Jimmy Chim

Tag: Writing

  • Start with One True Sentence

    Ernest Hemingway published seven novels and numerous collections of writings over the course of his life. But did he ever have trouble creating?

    He wrote in his book A Moving Beast:

    Sometimes when I was starting a new story and could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made.

    I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think,

    “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there.

    Takeaways:

    • Even Hemmingway has writer’s block!
    • If you aren’t sure how to begin, start with what you know for sure. As crossword puzzle creator Will Shortz once put it, “Begin with the answers you’re surest of and build from there.”
    • Let the truth be the guide.

  • Haruki Murakami’s Writing Habit

    ​​From The Paris Review, Summer 2004:

    When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10km or swim for 1500m (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9:00 pm.

     I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind. 

    But to hold to such repetition for so long — six months to a year — requires a good amount of mental and physical strength. 

    In that sense, writing a long novel is like survival training. Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity.

    See also: “The Running Novelist,” The New Yorker, June 9, 2008

  • Brick by Brick

    For 40 weeks now, I have sharing three interesting stories/ideas in my newsletter. I plan to keep it up.

    One challenge I consistently run into is that I don’t have the stories early enough in the week so the last couple of days becomes stressful. Sometimes my full-time job gets busy, and other things happens in the life. It becomes challenging to find time and energy to work on the newsletter stories a day or two before the ship date.

    I am now exploring another approach. Instead of trying to find three stories last minute, I write one short blog post every day. It can be a random interesting idea or story or passage I come across. If I do it daily, I have at least seven stories every week. When the time to compile my newsletter comes, I have a collection of materials to choose from. Not all seven will be good, but it shouldn’t be hard to find three decent ones.

    As I was thinking about this, I came across a quote from author and recovering alcoholic Sarah Hepola on slow change:

    “Change is not a bolt of lightning that arrives with a zap. It is a bridge built brick by brick, every day, with sweat and humility and slips. It is hard work, and slow work, but it can be thrilling to watch it take shape.”

    Source: My relapse years

    I love this analogy. Now I imagine myself laying down a brick every time I build on an idea, draw a diagram, or add a post to the blog.