Write 1–4 Stories a Month: the Macro in the Micro

Yesterday I reiterated the first Lifewriting for Writers principle: write a sentence a day. Boom. Simple

The point of the second principle is to “write 1–4 stories a month.” The typical response is either:

1. “My ideas are for novels/screenplays”
2. “I don’t have that many ideas”
3. “I don’t have enough time”

I’ll answer all of those. But to be clear, this notion is a synthesis of ideas from Ellison, Heinlein, and Bradbury. The psychology under it is to identify the smallest complete unit of work, and then to get all the elements of it into “unconscious competence.” This assumes you wish to become a master of your craft, and Mastery, for the purposes of this discussion are “to get the basics of your craft at unconscious competence, such that you can create spontaneously under pressure.”

In meditation, that might be, say, 15 minute sessions. This might allow you to go through the “mental chatter” phase into the “quiet” phase. In martial arts, that might be competing in a tournament: anyone who competes in tournaments every weekend is gonna get better: pain is a great teacher.

In writing, the notion connects to “Soth’s Fractal”: the micro contains the macro. Every scene contains the same internal and external tensions one seeks in the complete work, so in ONE sense, a scene provides a complete internal unit of writing. What it doesn’t do is build up your emotional muscles the way…