Write Like a Monkey
There is a mathematical theorem that I absolutely love called the Infinite Monkey Theorem:
An infinite number of monkeys working at an infinite number of typewriters for an infinite number of years will eventually produce the complete works of William Shakespeare.
That little theorem sums up exactly why any writer should write SOMETHING every day. It’s a probability thing.
The Monkeys Are Random
The monkeys produce shit.
Literally, but at the typewriter also. Imagine it: a room full of monkeys all banging away at keyboards.
If you could watch over their shoulders as they type you would see pages and pages of pure garbage. Gibberish. Gobbledy-gook.
Random letters on the page, random punctuation, random spacing – completely random crap.
As weird as it sounds, a couple of things would eventually happen if you watched long enough:
You would find random words in the middle of all the shit.
You would find random, perfect sentences in the middle of all the shit.
You would find random, perfect paragraphs in the middle of all the shit.
If you watched forever, statistically speaking, you would find Shakespeare mixed in amongst the shit.
It’s the Joy of Probability
If you consider the most random event in the world, like a monkey typing on a typewriter, and let it happen for a long enough period of time the probability that any ONE thing happening gets closer and closer to 100%.
The same principle applies to writing.
Hemingway even realized this:
I write one page of masterpiece for ninety-one pages of shit. I try to throw the shit in the wastebasket. -Ernest Hemingway
Write A Lot – Even If It’s Shit
If you write random shit (consider this blog) often enough, eventually you will produce something absolutely brilliant.
But you’re not writing random shit. I’m not writing random shit (honestly). We’re writing with a purpose. We’re writing with intent.
We’re trying to master our craft.
So we’re not dealing with random probability. We don’t have to wait an infinite number of years for our monkey shit to solidify into something good.
Hemingway wrote every day. Hemingway wrote ninety-one pages of shit for every page of masterpiece.
Practice your craft. Write often, write again, write some more. Then, when you’ve written everything you can think of writing, write again.
In there somewhere, guaranteed, is your masterpiece.
Brad is an engineer with a newfound passion for writing. He's a prime example of what happens when a nerd tries to be creative.
