A thoughtful piece from James Horton. A shame it’s on Substack. Focusing on what he calls the ‘toxic preconditions’ of writing.

Misguided beliefs about what writing must be, in order to be “worth it.”

1. Writing should be worthwhile. Since writing is a high-cost activity we decide it should only be used on high-reward projects.
2. Writing should be done once. Since writing is a struggle there’s diminishing value to doing anything that isn’t the project.
3. Writing should be done right. Further, since writing is a struggle, there’s no reason to circle back to edit it and make it better. One and done. Who in their right mind would sign up for a second beating?

There’s lots of great advice on undoing these preconditions. All written in a very friendly and encouraging way. However, this last paragraph struck a chord with the issue I had with the piece personally.

Once you’ve moved from the illusion that writing is about composition to an understanding that writing is just about putting your brain on paper where you can make friends with it, the articles and the books and the poems and all that will work themselves out.

“Putting your brain on paper where you can make friends with it” is great advice for brains that lend themselves to being put onto paper. Much less so for brains that don’t.

For me, this is a great example of advice being given from one type of brain – one particular neurotype – as if it’s perfectly fit for all.

I’m not being rude. The piece and the writer seem only to have good intentions, and I’m sure for many that the advice totally resonates. It’s just that when we read advice, tips and techniques like these, there’s a cultural expectation that they should be fit for all. And that failing to heed or follow the guidance is an individual failing, instead of a difference in ways of working, thinking, and processing the world.