Monday 15 October 2012

What If Isaac Newton Didn't See That Apple

Newton was a very bright man and wrote on a wide variety of subjects. Suppose on that fateful day something else caught his eye as he lounged in an orchard. Not an apple, but a book. Perhaps dropped by a worker in the orchard. Newton examines it, enthralled. A wind blows through the orchard loosing many apples. Thud, thud, thud, but he takes no notice. The book is a diary and chronicles the orchard man's daily life: work, family, hopes, dreams, failures, successes. Newton, captivated, wonders what laws govern writing and turns his scientific mind to the task.
He thinks, experiments, revises, and experiments again. Someone else is left to describe the laws of motion, but Newton gives the world:
The Three Laws of Writing
  1. A pen in motion tends to stay in motion, while a pen at rest tends to stay at rest.
  2. A final piece is the product of inspiration and perseverance.
  3. Any energy a writer puts into a piece is met by equal and individual energy from the reader.

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