1. Always decide the day before what you will write and when you will write, one key sentence and 27 minutes at a time.<\/p>\n
2. Never write about something you just learned this week. Always write about something you knew last week at the latest.<\/p>\n
3. Always write a single paragraph of at least six sentences and at most 200 words in support, elaboration or defense of a single well-defined claim expressed in the key sentence.<\/p>\n
4. Never write a paragraph that you have not planned the day before. Never write at a time you did not plan to.<\/p>\n
5. Start on time and finish on time. If you start late, still finish on time.<\/p>\n
6. Always take a three-minute break after writing the paragraph. In this break you must do something that is not related to either your writing or the rest of your day\u2019s tasks.<\/p>\n
7. Do not write from your sources. Write from your notes or from your memory.<\/p>\n
8. Do not leave \u201cchores\u201d like proofreading and referencing \u201cfor later\u201d. They are part of the activity of writing the paragraph for 27 minutes.<\/p>\n
9. Read your paragraph out loud sometime in the last five minutes of each 27-minute writing moment.<\/p>\n
10. Do not write more than six paragraphs per day. That is, do not write for more than three hours each day.<\/p>\n
11. Do not render any absolute judgment on your paragraphs. At most once a week, simply rank them from best to worst.<\/p>\n
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\n*To be followed by the scholar seeking to become a better prose writer during eight weeks (40 days) of deliberate effort directed to that end.<\/p>\n
[Download PDF Version]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1. Always decide the day before what you will write and when you will write, one key sentence and 27 minutes at a time. 2. Never write about something you just learned this week. Always write about something you knew last week at the latest. 3. Always write a single paragraph of at least six … Continue reading The Rules*<\/span>