What Can We Learn From Bruce Lee As A Writer

There’s more to Bruce Lee’s teaching than just fighting

It comes as a surprise to people when they know that Bruce Lee died at the age of 32. In such a short span, how can one be so popular? He was a movie star, a martial artist, and a philosopher. Yet, even after 50 years of death, he is equally or even more popular than when he was alive.

There are so many things to learn from his life. But as a writer, here are important lessons to learn from him.

Finding Your Style

Bruce Lee started his martial arts journey at the age of 13 with Wing Chun. He then went on to find his own approach to martial arts, which he referred to as ‘the art of fighting without fighting’ or ‘the formless form.’

Bruce Lee didn’t advocate one style of fighting but mixed multiple styles. He even discarded the traditional concept of styles. He believed that style restricted freedom, creativity, intellect, growth, and adaptability. He learned different styles, picked up what was most practical for him, and discarded the rest.

So what does this mean for writers?

A lot of writers want to find their styles. Realize that there’s nothing new under the sun. You can’t create a completely new style out of nowhere.

Finding your own style means picking small bits from different places. Steal writing styles from people you admire and give them your personal touch. Don’t ever restrict yourself to one style of writing. Finding your own style is about learning different styles, mixing them, and giving your personal touch.

“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”

Simplify Everything

“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”

Hack away the unessential. This is one of the greatest editing hacks. In our schools and colleges, we write to impress our teachers. So we are taught to write intellectual-sounding nonsense. But the real world is different.

If you want to appeal to a mass audience, you must simplify your writing. It should be understood even by grade 2 kids. There’s a term ‘Explain to me like I’m five, which means to explain even the most complex ideas into the simplest form.

Cut off all the fluff. Use simple sentences. If something doesn’t help you make your point, get rid of it. The simple your writing is, the better.

Read Voraciously

Bruce Lee was a voracious writer. He owned multiple books on martial arts. He also read philosophy, boxing, filmmaking, and other subjects. He never stopped looking for opportunities to better himself. And he knew reading about the successes of people who came before we were the best way to do so.

If you want to be a successful writer, you have to study. You study not only one subject but many. Reading makes you open to new ideas, expands your vocabulary, and develops critical thinking skills. All of which are required for good writing.

Reading good writing will teach you about different styles. You learn to structure, plot creation, pacing, dialogues, and more required to convey your point. In addition, reading will give you new ideas and perspectives to write about.

“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” — Lisa See