Don't Do It (a short poem)

And I share my exact method for writing it

Don't do it

If you wouldn't be happy to buy it, don't sell it.
If you'd not feel thrilled to receive it, don't send it.
Unless you are itching to find it, don't seek it.
If you do not light up when you learn it, don't teach it.
If it does not delight you to think it, don't say it.
If it will not bewitch you to hear it, don't play it.
If you know you won't smile when you see it, don't paint it.
If you can't imagine wanting to read it, don't write it.

Hello readers,

I'm going to share, step-by-step, how I wrote that poem (is it even a poem? I dunno). Whatever it is, I'm very happy with it. It's something I imagined wanting to read. And rather than just posting it by itself mic-drop-style, I'm gonna share my method with you. I've been inspired to do this after reading

Austin Kleon

’s book Share Your Work, which is a great idea for anyone making anything.

Watching makers make things is one of my favourite things. It's why I love legendary TV painter Bob Ross. It’s why I love competitive cooking formats like Masterchef (the Professionals). As a writer, I cannot resist the x-ray exposes of Stephen King's On Writing and Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer. Finding books like those feels like picking the locks of bulging chests of treasure.

But, why, do I like it so damn much? I think there are two reasons.

Bob Ross. Image courtesy of Up Magazine.

One is practical. I want to know how to get started myself. Often the thing that stops me trying new things is not that I lack confidence or that I'm preoccupied, but that I don't know the first three steps. When Bob shows me precisely how to paint clouds, I get to watch and imitate everything he does, including his crucial preparations.

The other is mystical. I love trying to solve the mystery of art. Art’s always been mysterious. But it's mysteriousness is often misunderstood. It's not that artists have magic powers; art is mysterious because there's no well-worn path to the outcome. The magic lies in the endless possibilities of how to make it. And because methods vary wildly from maker to maker, not only am I learning how Bob paints clouds, I'm learning something about Bob himself. That’s why I'll never tire of seeing other makers make, no matter how many treasure chests I find.

So if you’re interested, here are the 5 steps I took to write the poem.

How I wrote the poem

It began when a fellow writer said he wants to "write stuff he wants to read." I liked that. It reminded me that writers should enjoy writing (what a concept!). And besides, the writer's enjoyment is a trusty clue that others will enjoy it too.

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader." - Robert Frost.

A few days later I saw a book called I Paint What I Want to See by the artist Philip Guston. I thought, aha!, yes!, of course! Why would you want to paint anything you wouldn't want to look at yourself!? I snapped a picture and texted my writer—"I think you're onto something when you say you will write what you want to read 👌"

That's when it hit me—standing in the bookshop.

Step 1) The idea. If your writing is best when you want to read it, and if your painting is best when you want to see it, then surely that principle applies to other parts of life, no? I opened Evernote and wrote:

• Write what you want to read

• Paint what you want to see

• Grow what you want to cook

• Think what you want to say

Step 2) The observation. I noticed the statements all hung on verbs, so I asked ChatGPT to give me a long list of verbs (it's really good at jobs like that). I spent 30 minutes picking some verbs, then put GPT away and wrote some lines. Here's what that looked like:

Step 3) The concept. Back home later, I felt that many of them were too predictable (eg, Climb what you want to conquer; Repair what you want to replace)—meh. And more importantly, they weren't quite doing the same thing conceptually as "Write what you want to read." If this seems trivial, it wasn't to me. I wanted them to suggest a responsibility to create work that you believe in. So I cut any that missed that mark.

Step 4) The form. Next morning, I found they didn't excite me. The way they were phrased was too pedestrian. So I played around with other phrases and landed on a new way. I thought it sounded more "poetic.” And it also allowed each line to withhold its verbs until the very end—a proven trick writers use to present a mystery that keeps readers reading:

Step 5) The final polish. Two of the lines rhymed and I decided it would be cool if they were all in rhyming couplets (it is poetry after all!). I wanted the last line to be about writing, both as a nod to the original idea and because I'm a writer and that would be nice. And there was some last-minute tweaking, consulting my thesaurus (“love” was out, “thrilled” was in), until the words and syllables came together in a way that really pleased me. Which they do.

The whole process took about 2 days. Here is the finished poem again. I'm curious to know if your experience and opinion of it changes now you know how it was written. Are you a poetry nerd who can tell me why it is or isn't one? Let me know in the comments if you want. And as always, thanks for supporting my work. I’m looking forward to sharing more.

—Harrison x

Don't do it

If you wouldn't be happy to buy it, don't sell it.
If you'd not feel thrilled to receive it, don't send it.
Unless you are itching to find it, don't seek it.
If you do not light up when you learn it, don't teach it.
If it does not delight you to think it, don't say it.
If it will not bewitch you to hear it, don't play it.
If you know you won't smile when you see it, don't paint it.
If you can't imagine wanting to read it, don't write it.

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PS An editor who read drafts of this essay pointed out that the basic message in the poem doesn’t account for the learning process involved in artistic creation, which is a great point, and that “perhaps there could be a counter poem that talks about the fact you inevitably have to create work you’re not happy with in order to become better.” Anyone up for the challenge?

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Thanks to Josh at

Ponelat's blog

, Ian at

Measuring Design

, Rob at

This Very Moment

, Mahathi at

Please Don't Mind!

and Kelly at

Walking in Lisbon

for reading drafts of this—and to Justin Nothling for the original prompt.

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