Expect uncertainty

When the next step is unclear, how do you respond?

Hello writing friends, Chris here.

It happens every year – well, every four years to be precise. I always think I’m not going to be remotely interested in the Olympics and then, minutes after the cauldron is alight, I’m glued to the modern pentathlon, handballing, sport climbing or whatever weird and wonderful sport is on that evening. All that training! Such determination. It’s amazing to see what the human body can do.

But this year I’ve been watching the Olympics with something on my mind. I’ve mentioned before that one of the themes in our new book (title tbc) is the difference between algorithmic and heuristic tasks. To recap: an algorithmic task is something you approach in a logical order with pre-determined steps whereas a heuristic task is inherently uncertain. There’s no path to follow, no logical order and no defined end point. Writing, creating and innovating are all heuristic tasks.

I would argue that training to be an elite athlete is the very definition of an algorithmic task. When you’re going for gold, there’s little room for uncertainty or experimentation. To reach peak performance, an Olympian must stick to a science-based and often gruelling regimen.

You are given a strict training plan carefully attuned to your individual goals and physiology.¹ Of course, following a plan doesn’t guarantee gold - you need grit, determination too; you might get injured, but every athlete and their trainer knows where they are in their training and what step to take next. Having a predictable plan doesn’t make training easy, but it does make it certain. It’s this certainty that makes it very different from a heuristic task like writing – or in fact, any creative endeavour.

Expect uncertainty

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that over the years, I’ve come to come to realise that many writers experience blocks and barriers because they think algorithmically rather than heuristically about their writing. In one way or another, they look for certainty in their creative process when there is very little, and then blame themselves when they can’t find it.

For example, I had a coaching client a while ago who had been procrastinating for weeks over whether their project was finished or not. I don’t know whether it’s good enough. They told me. What am I doing wrong? They asked. The next step was unclear and understandably, they wanted reassurance and certainty. It’s normal to seek clarity and to feel uncomfortable when that clarity doesn’t arrive – but the more we can accept those uncomfortable feelings and consider them part of the process the more resilient we will become. That will help us to weather the ups and downs of the writing process.

The next step is unclear because it’s unclear – not because you are doing anything wrong. I told them. Just like any project we’re unsure of, the only way to make progress on a heuristic task like writing is to experiment. This means that going in fits and starts is normal. Taking wrong turns, making mistakes and getting stuck isn’t something you can always avoid. Getting lost in the fog is part of the creative process – in fact, it *is* the process.²

Keep going, Chris

1. There’s a reason why the 4ft 8 Simone Biles is an Olympic gymnast and the 6ft 3 Adam Peaty is an Olympic swimmer. A physiologist being interviewed in Wired Magazine says that Biles’ relatively small size coupled with her tremendous strength makes her ‘biomechanically perfect’ for her sport. Meanwhile, Peaty’s relatively large size together with his 46 inch chest, larger than average feet and hands and knee/ankle hyperextension make him perfect for his sport too. The hyperextension, if you were wondering, gives him a stronger kick.

2. At the time of writing, the Paris Olympics has not yet been disrupted by fog…