Simplicity is Not the Point
and sometimes it’s the little rituals that bring the biggest inspiration
Spoiler alert! Dan Ward revealed to me a fundamental point of his recently published second book “The Simplicity Cycle” — simplicity is not the point.
I caught up with Dan early on a Saturday morning. We both were trying to get work done before the rest of our families were up and about. It is a writing ritual we both share.
Before the interview, I asked him about a tweet he posted.
I was curious about his contrast of simplicity and complexity because of how simplicity applies to narratives in conflict. I asked him about the discipline of simplicity and explained that in conflict, complexity is the path to resolution. It is the simple narratives that often become the most violent — us vs. them or good vs. evil. Dan assured me that simplicity is not the point. The secret is to striking the proper balance.
I suppose balance is what Dan is striving for in a number of endeavors. Until recently, Dan balanced his writing career with his career as an Air Force Officer. An engineer by training and acquisitions professional by trade, he specialized in leading high-speed, low-cost technology development programs. Since retiring, after 20 years of service, he can spend more time writing and consulting. In addition to his two books, Dan writes for Fast Company, Forbes, The Boston Globe, Armed Forces Journal, Small Wars Journal, Time Magazine’s Battleland blog, the Pakistani Army’s magazine Halal and the British Army Yearbook.
I hope you enjoy this Military Writers Guild interview with Dan Ward as much I as I did engaging with him about his writing, creativity, and reading routines.
[John DeRosa] What does the first hour of your day look like? What time do you typically wake up?
[Dan Ward] I wrote both of my books and all my journal articles and comics while I was still on active duty. They all basically happened at 5 o’clock in the morning. I typically have about an hour before the kids are awake for school.
I get up. The house is really quiet. So I do my writing then.
[JD] You go straight into writing?
[DW] I wake up and make some coffee and pretty much dive right in. Usually, I run out of time before I run out of words. So each morning I come in with a dangling sentence or paragraph from the previous morning where I knew what I wanted to say next, I just didn’t have the time to write it. I am to pretty quickly put words on paper as soon as I get up.
“A writer is a machine for turning coffee into words.”
[JD] Is it because of a routine you built that you have this constantly in a writing mode? If so, could you describe the routine that keeps the words flowing?
[DW] Being a writer with a day job — which I no longer am anymore — I am constantly in the mode of having not quite finished the work. I am in a constant state of interruption. This means when I actually have a chance to sit down and do the writing, the words are there. That morning time is usually productive because I didn’t do a lot of writing during the day. I also carry around a small notebook with me everywhere I go to capture ideas.
[JD] Describe your writing space.
[DW] Early on, I did a lot of writing at 30,000 feet when I was doing a lot of traveling for work. Being on an airplane, for some reason, was productive writing time. There are not a lot of distractions there — it was before they had the internet on planes. Sitting in a small isolated space, I am able to block out the airplane noises easily.
My books I wrote at my dining room table. I got up, made coffee, and write. I also am wearing my Star Trek bathrobe when I write. Typically it is because it is 5 o’clock in the morning and it is chilly in the house. Partly it is a reminder to ‘boldly go where no one has gone before.’ In fact, there is a Fast Company article about why I wear it when I write.
“How My Star Trek Bath Robe Helps Me Voyage To The Final Frontier Of Innovation”
[JD] Do you write on a notepad or a computer?
[DW] Always on a notepad. I always write my first draft in my spiral notebook. I kind of like the feel of my pen running out of ink.
[JD] So how many pens for each book?
[DW] Usually two or three.
[JD] So, handwriting is part of your writing routine?
[DW] By writing in a notebook there are several important benefits. One is that it forces me to edit. When I then have to type my handwritten drafts, I am forced to revisit the whole thing — every word. I can see if those are the words I really want to use. If I compose on the computer (which I do every once in a while) it is already typed. I don’t have that forcing function to make me go through and polish it.
The other benefit is that I have a record of my work. If my computer crashes or the electricity goes out, I still have the notebook itself. It is a robust file system.
It also gives me something to do when I don’t have anything to write. I can type it up and I am still making progress. That process will often time trigger some new writing.
[JD] You shared with me earlier of how your books got their inspiration from the articles you had previously written. When piecing them together, you discovered a larger theme. Is that how you determine what you are writing about?
[DW] For me writing is a way to solve my own problems. It is a way to test hypotheses. Each article was a little experiment. I think I believe “A.” Can I support that believe? Can I support “A?”
My first book, F.I.R.E, was about rapid innovation. The basic premise was that innovation doesn’t have to cost much. It doesn’t have to be so complicated. So I said, “I think we get our best results when we have a small team, with a short schedule and a tight budget.” That was my hypothesis — my guess. Then I said, “Can I express that in a way that is supported?” Can I find data, examples, and stories that support that? That was the subject of my early articles. Each article would explore a different facet of that subject — the team aspect, the communication aspect, or the impact of speed, thrift, simplicity. The book is not just a compilation of these articles, but it does return to a lot of these early themes. If you look back to my early articles, you will realize the conceptual link between those topics and the book.
[JD] What does your note taking system look like? How do you gather information for your writing?
[DW] I read a lot. I read a whole lot. I carry one of those Field Notes notebooks. I have tried a lot of different brands, but Field Notes is my favorite. It fits into the leg pocket of my duty uniform. They are easy to carry around and are pretty robust. I go through about one a month. That is where I will capture a line or two — sometimes I will fill about three pages. Those notes will be the beginning of a paper, or an article, or a chapter. I then move on to a larger spiral notebook writing with a pen. From there I type it all up on MS Word. Lately, I have been saving my stuff in Dropbox so I can bounce from computer to computer.
[JD] What are you reading lately?
[DW] I am reading Jessica Hagy’s, The Art of War Visualized. I am really enjoying it. I have enjoyed her work for a long time over at Indexed. The way she approaches The Art of War, not from a military perspective, but a business perspective is really making me see it in a new way. The illustrations and diagrams she draws for it are brilliant.
I am also reading Unbroken, haven’t seen the movie yet, but I am enjoying the book. I am reading The Mayflower about early American colonists. And I just started reading 10% Happier by Dan Harris.
[JD] You seem to have a range genre of reading you prefer? How do you pick those books or is there a specific genre you prefer?
[DW] If I knew how I picked books, I would probably sell more. Two of them, The Mayflower and Unbroken, I am borrowing from a friend. Jessica Hagy’s book, I learned about when we both were speaking at South by Southwest. I picked up a copy of her book while I was there. My wife is a big fan of Dan Harris so when she was done reading it she passed along my way. So most of my books come my way through other people.
Sometimes I go back and read books I have previously read. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was one that I just re-read. I read it first in high school and it was even better reading it now.
Typically I tend toward science fiction and business books. I don’t have a lot of leadership books. They tend to have a lot of silliness in them. Yet I do try to read a broad genre of books.
A lot of my reading influences what and how I write. For example, David Whyte, a poet, is just brilliant. I am a big David Whyte fan. I have a couple collections of his poetry.
[JD] What is the book you’re most likely to give as a gift or one you’ve given as a gift the most?
[DW] If it is one of my books, it is The Simplicity Cycle because it hits a broader audience. The book I give as a gift the most is Orbiting the Giant Hairball, but Gordon McKenzie. It is the book I have loaned out the most often and it’s the book I make sure I always get back. I have read it about five or six times. It is hugely influential in how I think about innovation and collaboration. A fantastic, fantastic book.
[JD] What’s your drink of choice?
[DW] I gave up soda a while ago, but I do still like bubbly things, so I do enjoy seltzer. My favorite brew is Whale’s Tale Pale Ale. It is a nice local brew.
[JD] Where’s the most adventurous place(s) you have been?
[DW] Oh boy. When I was in high school, my Boy Scout troop would hike Pike’s Peak. That’s a really fun trek. We would hike through the Rockies. We even got recruited to fight a forest fire. So not counting Afghanistan that was the most adventurous place I have been.
[JD] What bold steps would you like to see the MWG take?
[DW] I would like the Guild to put together a book on a particular topic. That should be relatively easy. I would love to see something like that and a real life meet-up.
I’d also like to mention the idea of finding a co-author. When I wrote early on, I had a co-author, just because I thought people didn’t want to read something by me as a junior captain. That was a great experience for both of us to find our voice and to support each other. For any aspiring writers and new authors out there, consider getting together with someone you like and trust and build a co-author relationship. It doesn’t have to be a permanent thing — that was a big help when I got started.
Follow Dan, John, and the Military Writers Guild on Twitter. Cheers!
Enjoy what you just read? Please help spread the word to new readers by hitting the green “Recommend” button below and sharing it on social media.
