Work. Relax. Don't Think.
Book Thoughts on "Zen in the Art of Writing" by Ray Bradbury
The short of it: buy this book. Steal this book. Do what you can to read this book. Its short as hell and the best book on writing and creating I've ever read.
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Published: 1994
Read: December 11, 2023 - January 7, 2024 (bits reread to death since then)
Do you write? Get this
Do you create? Get this.
Do you just like reading? Get this.
Alright, pitch over, now to tell you how this book is the greatest - which is still a pitch, just a better kind, I think?
The subtitle for this book is "Essays on Creativity" and I don't know how a sentence can be so true yet undersell the work so much. It is astounding the effect of Bradbury’s words in these essays. The first two essays got me so excited to write that I put down the book and went to work right away. It still has the crease in the spine from sitting in that spot.
It’s a book on creativity so good that I don't want to read it. I want to create.
Bradbury tells stories of his writing, his system of word association for creation here. There is no step by step, and barely a "how I do it" instruction. It is more a description of the man's mental methodology,. How he approaches story. How he is excited to work.
“Work.
Relax.
Don't think.”
I have these words painted to a piece of paper and taped above my writing desk (no exaggeration, that's the photo that is attached to this newsletter).
There is no simpler creative process. There is no missing step there. Do each part fully and create like you've never created before. Bradbury gave me these words, like he gave me these essays, but it is my duty to use them. To create on my own. To get excited like he got excited. To send my work out in the world.
I've read a lot of books on writing this year (more of these “book thoughts” to come on those, I think), but this is still the greatest.
If there is one book I speak about here that you think about buying, make it this one. No piece of text has been so good and gotten me so thrilled to write as this one. There have been plenty of stinkers I've read and thought” "I can do better than that" and worked excitedly afterwards. But to read something so good, so thrilling, that all I want to do is work... that is something special to Bradbury and this collection of essays.
Buy it. Borrow it. Steal it. It doesn't matter. Read the damn thing.
Don't thank me. Thank Mr. Bradbury.
Thanks for giving that a read! The best way to support my work (for now) is comment below, check out a pledge, and share my work however you like. Tune in next week for the start of a long short story set in the same world of my upcoming novel!
Love ya!
Max