I'm a creature of inertia — unless I have a structure, I won't write.
To get me in motion, I use lessons that I learned while working on an auto assembly line (2017 Honda Accord owners? There's a decent chance I installed part of your car!). Today, I still treat writing like I'm on the line.
I keep this list posted to the wall of my office, and I glue it to the inside of each of my journals.
I’m sharing it here in case it’d help anyone else.
Lessons on writing from the Honda Assembly Line.
The Line IS The Muse
The Line IS Play
By working on the Line, you are forced to divorce yourself from the podcasts, tv, dishes, and any other distractions. It's just you and your toys, creating worlds and telling stories.
Doing other (non-Line) activity is vital, but it needs to done on its own time, when you can give it the attention it deserves.
The Line starts whether you're there or not.
The Line doesn't back up if you're gone.
The Line will allow the occasional break, but not too many.
The Line doesn't care if you clockwatch, as long as it doesn't slow you down.
The Line is everywhere, running and waiting for you. The question is, will you show up for work?
The Line shuts down in case of emergency. It will never run at the cost of your health.
Anyone at Honda can shut down the Line at any time. It shouldn't be for a trivial reason, but it's never worth risking your life or health for your work.
The Line may shut down, but you can't walk away until it's break time. It's okay if you stall, just as long as you don't leave -- mentally or physically.
When the line does shut down, what happens to everyone else? They're not working, but do they leave? No. They stay at their post, ready to get back to work when the Line-start bell rings again.
And it will ring again.
