The Rubik's Cube and The Great Gatsby

Practice makes perfect, but versatility spawns greatness.

I became a serious cuber when I finally accepted the truth of this statement.

No single method of solving the Rubik's Cube – no matter how perfect – will give you insight to truly master the cube.

Believe it or not, there are scores of methods for solving the Rubik's Cube.  Some are optimized for speed, others for ease of learning, and yet others to use the fewest possible moves.

It wasn't until I learned a method to solve the Rubik's Cube blindfolded, that I understood things on a more profound level.

Solving the cube sighted is rather reckless.  While you focus on one portion of the cube, you don't really care what happens to the majority of the other pieces.  And you have the freedom to 'wing it' and decide what to do next after each move.

But solving the Rubik's Cube blindfolded is a huge departure.  You are constrained in what you can do because you must keep track of the original position of every piece.  You must take great care to move each piece into its correct location.  This requires meticulous planning.

Many of the lessons I learned from my blindsolving method could be applied to my normal, sighted method.

What about writing lessons?

I'm willing to bet F. Scott Fitzgerald achieved his greatness because of similar lessons he learned along the way.

His first two novels were significantly character-driven and somewhat lengthy.  A stark contrast to his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby.  But if you look at what was happening in his life prior to that you'll see some of his versatility coming through.

He had been struggling financially and began writing short stories to make ends meet.  He later wrote a play called The Vegetable.  Each of these experiences heavily influenced what would become The Great Gatsby.

He no doubt applied some of the lessons he learned writing short stories.  And this produced the concise novel we have come to love.  But also, you can see the influence of having written a structured play.  The Great Gatsby is a very plot-driven novel.

So, if you write novels, try writing short stories.  If you need help writing dialogue, try writing a play.  If you write romance, try writing an action thriller.

There are countless techniques and methods for writing.  Each one has something special to make you a more versatile writer.  And don't worry if any one particular piece doesn't work – just remember Fitzgerald's The Vegetable was a commercial failure.  But it led to his most recognized achievement.

What unexpected writing lessons have you discovered?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  It's 2011.  Time for New Year's Resolutions.

If you're like me, then you might set a goal at the beginning of the year and then before too long, that goal seems like a distant memory.  Diets are blown.  Exercise programs get dusty.  What was once an ambitious, yet achievable goal now seems like an impossible dream suited only for superhumans.

I'm certainly not superhuman, but I did achieve one goal:  I can now solve the Rubik's Cube blindfolded.  I don't say this to brag.  I say this because it can be done...it is possible.

I don't worry about how fast I can do it or how elegant I look doing it...in fact, I look pretty ridiculous wearing a blindfold holding a Rubik's Cube.  It wasn't easy to figure out and it took a lot of practice.  But now I can do it routinely.  The point is, I set a goal and didn't get distracted by all of the other details that only serve as fertilizer for excuses.  Always keep the end goal in mind.

I struggle with this as a writer.  Just write.  Write the story.  Get the draft done.  Get to the end goal.  Don't worry if it's perfect or not...it won't be.  I need to blindfold and gag my inner critic for a while and get writing.  Things will be missing and need to be fixed, but that's part of the process.  These are all distractions that sometimes paralyze me and keep me from my end goal...the story.  So, I resolve to write more freely in 2011.

What is your Resolution this year?

I Didn't Know You Could Do That!

Not too long ago, I committed myself to solving the Rubik's Cube and also to becoming a writer.

Just about the time I had finally written a story I was proud of, I was able to solve the cube in under one minute.  I meticulously followed processes and conventions only to find out that somebody had done something inexplicable.

"What do you mean he can solve the Rubik's Cube blindfolded?"  Stefan Pochmann invented the first technique to do just that.  His method was to memorize the initial scrambled state of the cube and then move each piece into the correct position one at a time.

I have had similar, perplexed reactions to something a published author has done.  "What?  I didn't know you could do that!"  Writers of fiction will tell you there are rules that must be followed.  You don't want anything to "take the reader out of the story."  One of the Golden Rules states that the author shall remain invisible.  And yet, I can think of three examples of this broken rule:

1. In his most famous novel, "Money", Martin Amis writes himself into the story.
2. Kurt Vonnegut also did this in "Breakfast of Champions", but in a much more intrusive manner.  The narrator/author is the godlike writer who confronts his poor character and tells him it is because of him that he has suffered so much.
3. Though I never finished the Dark Tower series, Stephen King also wrote himself into his story.

Many writers will tell you they have had rules drilled into their heads, and you must obey!  But as I've learned with writing, rules are really just conventions and guidelines.  It's possible to break the rules for some very dramatic, fun, and even amazing results.