I’m a prolific writer. It’s legit to ask: How do I do it? Well, it wasn’t always like that. I learned the hard way; so that now I can describe the easy way how to write.
True, one needs some time in order to write even a little. While drowning in work and home responsibilities, even writing a little is impossible. However, writing is often hampered by other things first: you don’t feel like it, you’re not ready and you don’t know how/where to start. But even then, one can write with ease. (And when you’re on fire and when it’s fun to write, finding time for it may suddenly become easier.)
Writing is much harder when you’re really not ready and much easier when you are. Like when I wake up and think: Hmm, that’s a nice start for writing about X, and I begin and the whole thing comes pouring out, more than I ever thought I would have to say about it. That’s not only the easiest. That’s the way writing should always be done. Reality, though, is that you can’t always wait for that to happen, for the brain to cook everything to completion on the back-burner.
Then, what to do when you’re not that ready? Can writing still be done with some ease. Yes it can.
There are many books against the “writer’s block” to inspire you. I find them unnecessary. There is one rule to follow to make writing easy. The rule is: Don’t mix up the creative and the corrective phase of writing.
Don’t mix up the creative and the corrective phase of writing.
1. The creative phase: Start writing. Write down what you think. If you think “I have no idea how to start” write that down. Maybe after that the thought comes “because …” – write that down. Then later you can replace the first part by “At first, it may seem complicated to think about …, because …” and you got your start – which may change later. Just write. Don’t worry too much about style, spelling, structure, order, clarity, foundations and defensibleness of the thoughts, etc. Be wild. Enjoy the brain storm. Corrections and improvements in general all can be done later. For now, just create. Don’t erase words to replace them; first replace, then erase – if you must.
When this outpouring seems done, reread what you’ve written. Don’t be critical – you’re still in the creative phase. Add. Restructure the order if that makes you more happy (not because it’s imperfect) or would enable you to add other thoughts. You’re way beyond a writer’s block – you’re creating. You can add a critical voice, arguing what you’ve written so far – and argue back. The text is alive – enjoy seeing it grow naturally, organically. This is the nicest part of writing – enjoy it.
When time gets up and deadlines loom, or when you’re close to the number of words allowed to you, go to phase two: the corrective phase.
2. The corrective phase: Here you can sable down and edit the text to your heart’s desire. I admit that it’s never as much fun as being in the creative phase. You might still discover things to add, but in the end, you must do enough editing.
Editing is being mean. Nitpicking. Being unappreciative. If you’d do this in the creative phase, you will have no creative phase. You’ll have a writer’s block. But now you must. Look at style, spelling, structure, order, clarity, and defensibleness of your arguments. Make it as good as you can. Don’t be pleased too quickly if at all. If you want to know the meaning of well-edited, read well-edited texts that interests you. (I learned a lot from reading Associated Press texts.)
First replace, then erase.
Still, first replace, then erase. Don’t throw out anything – only replace it by something better. Don’t “start over again because this is no good” – unless you can replace it by something better immediately. I remember writing this book for one-and-a-half year and it was a dreadful read. I felt obligated to write it and you felt it at every page. I restarted the whole thing from enthusiasm. Instantaneously it became a fun read too. (The book was about Free Will! Humor should never be far away, even in serious writing.)
The worst part is when you’re finished editing and you need to go to the top and start over again. Hairsplitting, trying to improve the words you improved so many times already. How many reruns you do, depends on how perfect it should be. Though there never is an end to editing, obviously, a proof of competence should be self-edited 20 times, while for a private letter to a good friend only once or twice might suffice (this piece I reread thrice). Proper editing shows respect for your readers.
The best and hardest part of editing is insisting on the text being to the point and focused, to leave out what is unnecessary. Skip. My mother was a simple writer but an excellent editor of her own texts. She reduced her writing to 50% in her first editing and in another round skipped yet another 10%. Her letters to editors were always published.
This sweet comparison that doesn’t really work, the fun episode that doesn’t clarify, the dear pun that distracts from your point – if it’s hard to throw them out, move them to an empty sheet, maybe for another text. Or maybe later you’ll find a place in the same text to reintroduce them.
Even if an editor will go through it after you, you must make it the best you can before s/he receives it. If you have friends or professional editors willing to review the text, always value their feedback. They don’t criticize because they are bad readers but because your text could be misunderstood or confuse – funny as that may sound. Your text should be clear enough even for people who read hastily. Their remarks are always signs that your text needs to be improved.
To sum it all up: Don’t be too critical while being creative, don’t be too creative while being critical, and first replace, then erase.
Best of all: When you do this enough, it becomes your default writing mode and writing will always be fun and easy for you.
I wrote this for you guys because I understand how busy you are and how scientific and intellectual demands may weigh you down. That it may help make your writing fly!
NB: Imperfections here are not from sloppy editing. My writing can’t be much better because English is not my native tongue. And I can’t afford professional editors. And it’s only a blog post, not a Book.
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Between 15.1.2017 and 1.2.2018 I wrote 300 blog posts for the TOI.
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
