Love and hate is all you need, according to Bradbury.

There are two feelings you can certain about in life:

Knowing what you love and knowing what you hate.

The feelings are clear; for the most part, they can’t be disproven or dismissed.

They’re genuine; as you read this, they’re what makes you you.

To which Bradbury shares is how to find joy in writing.

In Zen in the Art of Writing, he asks:

“How long has it been since you wrote a story where your real love or your real hatred somehow got onto the paper?”

Both of these feeling rest at your core; introducing either of them, or both, is what can be the premise of any story.

While those two feelings are the fuel you need for your story, further along in the book, Bradbury shares the vehicle—his formula—on how to find joy in writing:

“What do you want more than anything else in the world? What do you love, or what do you hate? Find a character, like yourself, who will want something or not want something with all his heart. Give him running orders. Shoot him off. Then follow as fast as you can go. The character, in his great love, or hate, will rush you through to the end of the story. The zest and gusto of his need, and there is zest in hate as well as in love, will fire the landscape and raise the temperature of your typewriter thirty degrees.”

For example:

One of his short stories, The Pedestrian, was inspired from Bradbury’s late night walks.

Neighbors peeped out their window at night and noticed a man walking.

Strange behavior to the neighbors, apparently, they contacted police.

Having his late night walks interrupted more than once, Bradbury became irritated; he used that anger to fuel his story.

Which, side note: If you want more reasons to write, tap here.

He makes it all sound simple.

Then again, if you’re using what you love and hate as fuel, it should be simple, right?

— George