Rules for SLE's

So many things that I want to say, so little time in which to say it. And I write, and rewrite and re-rewrite so that nothing ever gets said or done. It’s never quite good enough. So today, with this first post, a new regime: the regime of Shitty Little Essays, or SLE’s.

An SLE (like this one) does not have to be very good. It doesn’t have to be polished to jewel-like perfection. It just needs to be written, and as fast as possible.

To make my transition from NCE’s (Never Completed Essays) and ITNGW’s (Ideas That Never Get Written) to SLE’s some simple rules are in order.

Rule 1: no backtracking. You can fix a typo in the current sentence, but you can’t go back past that point. That means if you say it wrong you can say it again, but you can’t undo what you said.

Rule 2: One sitting. You write the essay in one sitting. When you get up, you are done. That’s a dangerous rule so it needs a little bit of fixing. You can be interrupted by something important (like a bathroom break or a phone call) but once it’s over you have to get back to completing the SLE as quickly as possible.

Rule 3: Quick posting. You write the essay and you post it. You don’t give yourself a chance to edit it.

Rule 4: Retraction. You can only retract by writing another essay. What you write is eternal. Now let’s see how that works.

Rule 5: End it when you’ve run out of gas.

Like right now.

(Then apply Rule 3 and post it.)

Like right now.