Henry Miller's 11 Commandments

Famous novelist ... desperate dissertators: We all struggle to create, to work, to move forward. Sometimes we inch forward, sometimes we speed ahead, and sometimes we sit still stuck and silenced. At the Dissertation Boot Camps we've discovered the importance of including joy and fun into our writing process. We've seen that taking care of our bodies and emotions generates energy and focus to write. And we've learned that it's discipline that opens up wellsprings of talent and inspiration. Henry Miller's list captures all of this in 11 simple principles.

COMMANDMENTS

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.
2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to "Black Spring."
3. Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
5. When you can't create you can work.
6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
8. Don't be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
9. Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book youare writing.
11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

Source: Lists of Note


Enjoy!