✍️ Indisputable* Mathematical Proof that Writing Fun = Writing Creativity and Production
or, Strong’s Second Law of Writing
All together now like we’re on Family Feud: what’s my #1 Writing Rule? “Haaave Fuuuun!”
I recently started reading Story is a State of Mind by Sarah Selecky for our Writing Craft Book Club. In the introduction, she talks about a common issue I’ve seen in writers (including myself…) Soon after Sarah started to read as a child, she started to write for fun. She would write for an audience of one, never really sharing her stories.
At least, not until years later when Sarah decided to start submitting stories. In her mind, this changed the game. Sarah was going to get “serious” about writing. (Where have we heard that before?) The goal was no longer just to have fun. Or, as it turned out, to have fun at all. Sarah wanted to achieve something other than entertaining herself – and started keeping score.
Can you guess what happened? Not only did she start piling up rejections, Sarah stopped having fun while writing. In turn, she stopped writing all together.
To be clear, rejections are part of the writing life. Unless you’re very lucky, you’re going to get rejections. There isn’t a way around that.
But, there is a way to prevent yourself from losing interest – from losing your fire to write.
So how do you avoid turning writing into a chore? As Sarah recounts, she started writing for herself again rather than trying to cow-tow to what she perceived editors might want. I imagine this led to more authentic, more exciting writing. Whatever the truth, Sarah eventually became the successful writer she is today.
In other words, when Sarah stopped being “serious” and started having fun again, everything changed for her.
Strong’s Second Law of Writing
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
-Not Albert Einstein
There is some discussion as to who first said the above quote. Some say Einstein, but I’m pretty convinced it wasn’t, based on this quote investigation. Regardless, the sentiment is accurate – I’ll gladly put my name to the quote if nobody else is willing!
If you broke this down into an Einsteinian equation, it might be:
W=AF2
…or Writing [including both writing quality & quantity] = (writing Ability)(Fun)2
You may say, “But wait, Graham – do you mean to say “fun” is more important than “writing ability”?
Yes, that’s exactly what I mean to say. Exponentially so.
It’s clear that Sarah is a highly intelligent woman and an excellent writer. However, by her own admission, when Sarah dropped “fun” from the equation, her writing suffered. I can tell you that I’ve experienced this myself. The more fun I have, the more likely I am to hit upon creative golden nuggets – or even huge stretches of Yellow Brick Road.
I’m going to call this, “Strong’s Second Law of Writing”. The working definition is:
Strong’s Second Law of Writing
Writing quantity and quality tends to be directly proportionate to writing ability multiplied exponentially by the amount of fun the writer is having. This means that writing quality and quantity tends to increase exponentially in a shorter amount of time when the writer is having fun. This also tends to be true for creativity in general.
I know – more math! (Who is this crazy writer who promised you no more equations?) I’ll add in one last thing though from Grade 3 multiplication. If “Fun” equals zero (F=0), it cancels the whole equation like this:
W=A x 02 or W=0
In other words (or, more accurately, in words instead of numbers…), your writing quality and output will tend to be zero if you’re not having fun. This is what happened to Sarah: she stopped writing altogether. W=0
Bee-tee-dubs, it’s no coincidence that kids learn by playing and having fun. When it stops being fun, they lose interest and move on to something else. It’s only us stupid adults who keep banging our heads.
Final Conclusion: In other, other words, increasing your writing ability is important, yes. But increasing your level of fun is even more so. If you want to improve the level of your writing quickly, concentrate of playing with words and having more fun. Your writing quality and quantity will increase exponentially in a shorter amount of time.
*The use of the word “indisputable” here may be disputed.
Over to You
Have you noticed a difference in the quality and/or quantity of your writing when you’re having fun? Any tips on how to keep it fun? Any questions about how to boost your own creative output? Let us know in the comments below!
Until next time, keep writing with wild abandon!
~Graham
email me if you get lost.