Heinlein’s Rules Series, 1

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In Today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* On WITD and Being Prolific
* Heinlein’s Rules Series, 1
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

“You do not have to be prolific as I am, but you do have to produce product….” Dean Wesley Smith

On WITD and Being Prolific

Writing into the dark and being prolific go hand in hand, and they work in concert.

But it is not easier for me to WITD because I’ve been writing fiction for a long time or because I’m prolific.

Rather, I have been writing for a long time and am prolific because I write into the dark. Just food for thought.

Heinlein’s Rules Series, 1

Today and for the next four days I’ll bring forward five updated posts that comprise a would-be interview about Heinlein’s Business Habits for Writers and why, as a professional fiction writer, I personally find them essential.

This series was first published in the almost-daily Journal in March 2021. Then I posted it again last year in May. Here it is again.

Back in 2020, I received a note from a writer who wanted to interview me about my adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. The purpose was so the writer could put up a blog post on the topic. In the end, the resulting post was too long for the blog’s format.

But the questions the writer asked, and the incidental comments she made, were absolutely typical (usually even word for word) of the questions and comments I’ve heard from writers at conferences and conventions for the past thirty years.

So I decided to use that writer’s questions and comments to post a series of topics here for the benefit of those who read this Journal.

Some of this will hit home. Some of it might make you angry. Some of it will sound repetitious. I don’t mean any harm.

In my own experience, I’ve often found I had to hear something more than once or hear it said in a different way before I finally got it. It is in that spirit that I offer this and the following few posts on Heinlein’s Rules and Writing Into the Dark, which really do go hand in hand.

First, so we’re all starting from the same place, here are Heinlein’s Rules. You can download a free PDF copy of Heinlein’s Rules (annotated) here.

Robert A. Heinlein first outlined his rules in Of Worlds Beyond: The Science of Science Fiction Writing. Largely as an afterthought to his article, he wrote the following:

“I’m told that these articles are supposed to be some use to the reader. I have a guilty feeling that all of the above may have been more for my amusement than for your edification. Therefore I shall chuck in as a bonus a group of practical, tested rules, which, if followed meticulously, will prove rewarding to any writer.”

Then he listed what he calls his Business Habits:

  1. You must write.
  2. You must finish what you start.
  3. You must refrain from rewriting except to editorial order.
  4. You must put it on the market.
  5. You must keep it on the market until sold.

Heinlein added that if you follow these rules, eventually you would find some editor (reader) somewhere who will buy your work.

Nothing could be more spot-on the money.

Here are some excerpts from the interviewer’s introduction, which contain some of those “typical” questions and comments I alluded to earlier and my responses:

Q: “It stands to reason that if we, as writers, spend the bulk of our time writing, we’re only going to improve. And if, instead of hopping from unfinished project to unfinished project or obsessing over a work to the point of ridiculousness, we move on to the next story, we’re going to spend more time writing. Which is the one thing we all need to do a lot of to succeed.”

HS: Yes, instead of “hopping from unfinished project to unfinished project or obsessing over a work” at all, we should write the current story (even the very first) to the best of our ability, then publish it and move on to the next story.

But this isn’t only so we’ll “spend more time” writing. Writing a lot without learning and practice will not help you succeed. Practice (vs. hovering via revisions and rewrites) is what will help you succeed. To practice, you learn and then apply what you learned in the next story.

Never look back. Always look forward to the next technique to learn and the next story to write.

Q: “I have a few concerns with some of the rules to the point that I’ve never been able to embrace the process. … I’ve always wished I knew someone personally who follows Heinlein Rules so I could talk to them and see what they would say about my concerns.”

HS: You came to the right place. I was exactly the same way. Exactly. Which is to say I was filled with unreasoning fear. Unreasoning because there are no real consequences to “failing” at one or more of Heinlein’s Rules. You just dust yourself off and climb back on.

There are also no real consequences to writing and publishing a story that, in your opinion, is “bad.” (More on this toward the end of this post.)

The truth is, the world won’t stop if you write a “bad” story and not that much good will happen if you write a “good” story. Your opinion of your work is still only one opinion.

To put it more succinctly, to YOU, your original voice is boring because it’s with you 24/7. But to others, your original voice is unique and fresh.

Given the chance to read your story, some readers will love it, some will hate it, and the majority will enjoy it—IF you don’t revise, edit, and “polish” your original voice and the voice of your characters off of it.

Okay, that’s enough for now. Next up, post two in this series. Of course, comments and questions are welcome.

Back tomorrow with Heinlein’s Rules Series, 1.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………… 1000

Writing of Blackwell Ops 46: Sam Granger | Still on the Ghost Trail

Day 1…… 1814 words. To date…… 1814
Day 2…… 2645 words. To date…… 4459
Day 3…… 1507 words. To date…… 5966
Day 4…… 1664 words. To date…… 7630
Day 5…… 1283 words. To date…… 8913
Day 6…… 3126 words. To date…… 12039
Day 7…… 3454 words. To date…… 15493

Fiction for June………………………. 39529
Fiction for 2025………………………. 502981
Nonfiction for June……………………. 19150
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 145300
2025 consumable words…………….. 641771

2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 12
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 30
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 116
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 300
Short story collections……………………. 29

Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.

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Questions are always welcome at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. But please limit yourself to the topics of writing and publishing.