Questions 185: Do Not Rewrite? Are You Crazy!?

jdsawyer Going Pro / Nanocast December 12, 2016 April 10, 2018

Dan Dan The Art Man asks:
“I’m really struggling with Heinlein’s Third Rule. How can you NOT rewrite and still turn out good stories? Can we fix stories before we abandon them?”

Books discussed:
The Republic by Plato

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jdsawyer

After a childhood in academia, J. Daniel Sawyer declared his independence by dropping out of high school and setting off on a series of adventures in the bowels of the film industry, the venture capital culture of silicon valley, surfing safaris, bohemians, burners, historians, theologians, adventurers, climbers, drug dealers, gangbangers, and inventors before his past finally caught up to him. Trapped in a world bookended by one wall falling in Berlin and other walls going up around suburbia and along national borders throughout the world, he rediscovered his deep love of history and, with it, and obsession with predicting the future as it grew aggressively out of the past. To date, this obsession has yielded over thirty books and innumerable short stories, the occasional short film, nearly a dozen podcasts stretching over a decade and a half, and a career creating novels and audiobooks exploring the world through the lens of his own peculiar madness, in the depths of his own private forest in a rural exile, where he uses the quiet to write, walk on the beach, and manage a production company that brings innovative stories to the ears of audiences across the world. For news and free stories, sign up for his occasional newsletter. Or find his contact info, podcasts, and more on his home page at http://www.jdsawyer.net

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One Comment

Thank you so much for recording this one. I’ve really been struggling with what is meant by “Do not rewrite unless to editorial demand” and this fleshed it out for me beautifully. I just re-listened to it like 3 times in a row to really try and get it to sink in. So NO! You did not bore me whatsoever. On the contrary. Thank you so much! Hopefully I can meet you in person some day and thank you with a handshake and maybe a drink.

Dan Dan The Art Man

January 9, 2018 at 2:06 pm 7 years ago

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jdsawyer

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