of nature in men summary
Answers
When Francis Bacon writes of nature in men, he means “The inherent or essential quality or constitution of a thing; the inherent and inseparable combination of properties giving any object, event, quality, emotion, etc., its fundamental character.” At least, that’s the definition in the OED illustrated by a quote from this essay. (I love it when I find Bacon in the OED!)
“Nature is often hidden; sometimes overcome; seldom extinguished.” You can’t always detect a person’s true nature, or sometimes even your own. You can overcome aspects of your nature, but never fully extinguish them.
Maybe that’s true. I quit smoking nine years ago (my addictive nature) and have no genuine desire to smoke anything ever again, but for some reason yesterday as I got into my car to go home after spending 3 hours in the cold wind planting saplings with Treefolks, the thought of smoking a cigarette strolled lightly through my mind — and out again. declarations of our essential writerly natures.
“He that seeketh victory over his nature, let him not set himself too great, nor too small tasks; for the first will make him dejected by often failings; and the second will make him a small proceeder, though by often prevailings.”
In writing terms, he’s saying set goals of the appropriate size. If you’re just starting out, writing your first book, don’t expect yourself to write 3,000 words a day. You’ll fail and give yourself another can’t. But don’t be a lazy wimp and set a trivial goal of 50 words a day. You’ll never finish the thing. If you’re super-busy, 100 words is a reasonable goal, but if, like most people, you can carve two hours out of your day (training yourself to write during those hours and not pine for other ones), 1000 words a day is an excellent goal. You can finish a 90,000 word novel (first draft) in three measly months at that rate!
“And at the first let him practise with helps, as swimmers do with bladders or rushes; but after a time let him practise with disadvantages, as dancers do with thick shoes.”
Writer translation: Let your first book or two be in the simplest genre that you enjoy: short contemporary romance, say, or Star Trek novels, or short breezy thrillers. Well-established genres with well-defined features of plots and characters. It’s hard enough just to sit there and write for your designated time span each day, much less to be totally original on all fronts. Then, as you gain skills and confidence, continue to challenge yourself with richer settings, twistier plots, deeper insights — whichever course your tastes and talents send you on.