The most foolish advice on writing came from one of the most well-known writers in the history of writing — Charles Bukowski. He wrote an elaborate poem expanding upon what he thought writers do or should do. But it was more about what writers shouldn’t do — writing. Yes, he pretty much said that.
Bukowski’s ‘so you want to be a writer?’ starts with “if it doesn’t come bursting out of you/ in spite of everything,/ don’t do it.” and ends with “when it is truly time,/ and if you have been chosen,/it will do it by/ itself and it will keep on doing it/ until you die or it dies in you”. And finally declares thus: “there is no other way./ and there never was.”
So he is telling us that until the text writes itself and comes out bursting from your inside, pulling out your innards with it perhaps, you are not good enough a writer to put a word on paper (or type on a keyboard). When was the last time, my dear writers, that things came pouring out of you on the page (or the screen) fully-formed? If that’s what Bukowski meant, it just doesn’t happen in the real world with real writers. Maybe it happened to him, which I doubt because no writer has ever said that they came up with a publishable first draft and never had to say “oh shit!” when they read what they had first written.
Stephen King went only so far as to say that he could churn out a “clean copy” in the first draft, which meant he did not have to completely rewrite what he wrote in the first instance. But that’s about it. No real writer has said anything as incredible as Bukowski does. But I keep wondering what made him say such a discouraging thing, and throw it at all aspiring writers, some of whom could be incredibly gifted.
Even those to whom writing comes naturally feel the need to put in effort into writing, and then put effort a second time into editing, which is more like rewriting quite a bit, before anything is really good enough to hit “publish” or send to the press, depending upon whether it’s an online article or a novel set to be published by the likes of Random House.
Here is the truth about writing
It never comes bursting out. It has to be pulled from deep inside with considerable effort, and even then, it just spills on the page like a stain of ink on the paper. First drafts are nauseatingly ugly. You would feel like dropping it in the dustbin and never thinking about writing another word for publication in your life. And if you were to take Bukowski’s advice, that would be the end of you as a writer. So if you want to be a writer, junk Bukowski’s advice without delay. But there is a chance that I am somehow misreading the clear words of the poem in some way, in which case I would politely ask you to explain it to me patiently. Bukowski, to be fair, could be saying something so contorted that it might escape the mind of an ordinary reader like me, calling for a more nuanced understanding by a way more discerning reader than Yours Truly.
My Advice: Ignore Bukowski
Read some more, write some more every day. Eventually, you’ll start getting better. The only thing that you need to consider is whether or not you like writing. If it’s too much of a chore and you positively hate every single moment of writing, maybe you are a different kind of genius. Maybe a musical maestro or an exceptional painter of Picasso’s calibre. And in that case, you are wasting your time attempting to express through the medium of words.
The point is, all creativity takes effort. So Bukowski’s advice does not work anywhere. Bukowski’s case for inspired work and to not work unless and until the inspiration just about kills you with its force of conviction is not meant for any creative people trying to create anything. It’s meant perhaps for those who fancy themselves as writers and are not, and are supposed to be scared off before they lay the garbage on the page to offend the readers.
But then my mind goes to Chetan Bhagat, and I start thinking how even the worst of writers can make people get into the habit of reading, and in that respect, Bhagat has done more for writing than most good writers can claim to have done for at least Indian readers.
Originally published on Medium on August 10, 2025.
