April 3rd, 2012 / 7:43 am
 Craft Notes

THE RULES

  1. Read more, write more, submit less
  2. Buy other people’s books (seriously, do this)
  3. Make books with people you admire
  4. Never comment on the internet (just stop)
  5. Don’t read blogs that piss you off (just stop)
  6. Avoid Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr
  7. Work on craft (it’s okay)
  8. Review books written by people you don’t know (challenge is healthy)
  9. Let someone know when they’ve written something you like
  10. Care more

22 Comments

  1. April 3rd, 2012 / 12:12 pm Helen—

      All except avoid Twitter. I get so many good book recs from there, and some people are doing good stuff, not just talking about their dinner.

      Number 2. is very important. Taking risks on a book that looks exciting too.

  2. April 3rd, 2012 / 12:13 pm Ryan Bradford—

      Just simultaneously broke rules 4-6.

  3. April 3rd, 2012 / 12:25 pm shaun gannon—

      i work on craft all the time, right now i’ve got this really awesome thing going with these paper towel holders with little wooden apples on the top that i paint. they’re only 18.99 + shipping on etsy

  4. April 3rd, 2012 / 12:32 pm A D Jameson—
  5. April 3rd, 2012 / 12:32 pm A D Jameson—

      …by which I mean, broad agreement.

  6. April 3rd, 2012 / 12:43 pm Banango—

      damn, i love those things. can you make one for me with a wooden pear on top though?

  7. April 3rd, 2012 / 1:37 pm deadgod—

      4.  Not so different from saying ‘Never have a conversation (just stop)’.

      6.  Like 4.

      10.  Is ‘insufficient quantity of caring’ What’s Wrong With The World Today?

      I think these Rules amount to ‘Be less trivial and frivolous’.  Not terrible advice. 

      ‘Pay attention’ is useful.  ‘Count on later than immediate effects’.  ‘Share’.  ‘Treat the malice of hypocrites and fools as impersonal’.

  8. April 3rd, 2012 / 1:58 pm Frank Tas, the Raptor—

      I’d posit 4 and 6 are directly in contrast of number 1.

      Twitter, Tumblr, and the FB are only problems if you stick to stigma instead of attempt to make them into something more beautiful/good/your word choice for what art should evoke. I write short stories on my FB; I write short stories on my Tumblr; Twitter is the equivalent of a digital notepad for future writing ideas.

      Comments, well, I second what Mr. God said. Maybe an alteration to #4 would be Stop commenting on the Internet as a means to project all the anger you are unwilling to find a channel for in real life.

      5 and 8 are also in direct conflict, too. Disagreeing is challenging; transforming rage into rational discourse is challenging; blah blah.

      Honestly I saw this was on yr personal blog before appearing here and when I read it on personal blog I was more like “These are his rules if they make him feel better who am I to criticize” but as soon as it was put here and presented in a way that made it seem as if You Are Telling Me What to Do I got upset.

  9. April 3rd, 2012 / 2:00 pm Douglas Haddow—

      “10. Care more”

      Very Deepak Chopra.

  10. April 3rd, 2012 / 2:19 pm Mark Buckner—

      These rules are dumb wtf

  11. April 3rd, 2012 / 3:12 pm John Minichillo—

      “Craft” is this subjective thing, “taste,” masquerading as something objective and quantifiable, aka “time spent writing.”

  12. April 3rd, 2012 / 3:15 pm Jordan Pennington—

      truly, this man was the son of god. 

  13. April 3rd, 2012 / 4:41 pm rawbbie—

      I only agree with number nine, so good job I guess.

  14. April 3rd, 2012 / 5:26 pm Ryan Williams—

      i don’t know why people are knocking this list.
      it just seems like positive action 101 to me.

      though, i don’t necessarily agree with denouncing social media. they have their place even if they are lowest common denominator social vortices and timesinks. like michael pollan’s general advice for eating: not too much, mostly plants.

      also: #2 fuck yeah totally

  15. April 3rd, 2012 / 6:39 pm Spenser Davis—

      so meta

  16. April 3rd, 2012 / 7:03 pm marshall mallicoat—

      fukk this

  17. April 3rd, 2012 / 7:08 pm Mike James—

      “Don’t read blogs that piss you off (just stop)”

      This list appears to work tandemly with internet culture. Is it safe to correlate this list entirely into real life? Not especially because some of these exist only within “real life”. I naturally correlate the above quote into — don’t hang around people that piss you off (just stop). But when I do this, I think, this inherently means you are hanging around only those who have your same general outlook. Sure, even within your circle of friends you have disagreements, but a disagreement coming from someone who just doesn’t seem life like you will break open the truly open-minded mind.

      But David Peak ain’t gonna comment on the internet. Yeah, what Marshall said, so meta.

  18. April 3rd, 2012 / 7:55 pm Don—

      The irresistible charm of the self-help genre.

  19. April 4th, 2012 / 12:12 am Anonymous—

      11. Drink Bud Light Platinum

  20. April 4th, 2012 / 11:21 am Anonymous—

      viptoshopper.com

  21. April 5th, 2012 / 2:15 pm Jasmine Neosh—

      Is that “Never comment on the internet” as in never leave a comment on something posted on the internet, or never write about the internet in literature? 

  22. April 5th, 2012 / 4:04 pm emmab—

      rly inspiring