Writing Tips From Robert Heinlein

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Heinlein is one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors — if you haven’t seen it already, watch Predestination which is based on a Heinlein short-story for a nice mindfuck and a general idea of what a great writer (and thinker) Heinlein was.

During some reading about his work I stumbled across six simple rules Heinlein set up for aspiring writers:

  1. You must write
  2. Finish what you started
  3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order
  4. You must put your story on the market
  5. You must keep it on the market until it has sold
  6. Start working on something else

I love it. It is minimalist, it is based on free market principles, it is about doing the work.

Robert Heinlein was a libertarian which shines through his writing. And his approach to being a writer goes in the same direction: Do the work and let the people decide if you stuff is good enough or not. In the end: Not all good writing sells, but all writing that sells is good.

How far can I get as an indie writer?

I’ve decided to apply Heinlein’s rules to my own pursuit as a writer some time ago. 1,000 words a day is my minimum goal which will results in at least 365K words a year.

This leaves me with at least 4 full novels by the end of each year. By doing my own editing, translating, and cover design, I can keep the cost low. The marketing is a different beast, sure. I’m writing this blog, doing YouTube, and writing short stories on top to get something going.

Will I succeed?

Only time will tell—and the free market.

9 Reasons to Have Numbers in Your Headlines (Number 5 Will Surprise You)

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BuzzFeed used to do it with almost every single article. I once discovered a website that covered many of my interests—stories, tech, fitness, online growth, and more. On Medium and countless blogs, you’ll find the same pattern. I must have read thousands of those number/list-articles.

Why do they all use numbered headlines? Because they work — until they don’t.

BuzzFeed was the worst thing that ever happened to writing on the internet—but it wasn’t really BuzzFeed’s fault. They simply optimized for what people clicked on. At some point, they realized that “7 Ways to Lose Weight (Number 3 Will Surprise You)” performed far better than “A Comprehensive Guide to Losing Weight.” Since their goal was to maximize clicks, they leaned heavily into this style of writing.

However, I don’t use that structure—and I don’t recommend that you do either.

Here’s why: Despite reading thousands of articles with that format, I can’t remember a single website besides BuzzFeed where I found them. No joke, no exaggeration. I don’t remember the authors, the bloggers, or the magazines. They’ve simply vanished from my memory.

I can’t recall a single specific article that used this formula. “7 Ways to Build Muscle Fast”? I couldn’t tell you even one of the seven.

Why is that?

Because articles with numbered headlines are like fast food. They look tempting, they’re marketed well, but once you’ve consumed them, you realize you’ve gained nothing of lasting value. You still remember that night you had a steak at a five-star restaurant—but you probably don’t remember your first Big Mac.

Fast-food number/list-articles are the same. You consume them, digest them, shit them out, and forget them—almost immediately afterwards you crave something real.

Of course, not every numbered article is of low quality. But by now, too many creators have abused the formula, stuffing low-value content down our throats. Whenever I see a “numbers post,” I just skip it.

Write lists or write something personal.

Numbered posts are the opposite of personal writing. They don’t tell the reader who you are or give them a reason to come back.

Just like you don’t care about returning to McDonald’s because there is another one at every corner, you don’t care about that site with the numbers articles because they can be found all over the internet.

BuzzFeed News is already gone, and BuzzFeed Inc. is struggling financially. The biggest example of “number-post” success has turned into a case study in short-term rise and mid-term failure—and that doesn’t surprise me at all.

If you want to build a real relationship with your readers—or any relationship at all—stay away from numbered headlines and formulas.

How to Write a Good Remake (A Lesson From Frankenstein)

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I watched the newest Frankenstein remake on Netflix yesterday. Guillermo del Toro was behind it — one of the few filmmakers in Hollywood I still get genuinely excited about.

Still, I had my doubts. It’s a Netflix production, and quality on that platform is hard to find. But this time, they really delivered. Frankenstein is a fantastic film that honors the source material while adding meaningful details of its own.

One of the main things I thought about afterward was how del Toro managed to do something Hollywood almost always fails at: creating a good remake.

We live in an era where Jurassic Park gets remade every two years, and most superhero films feel like a variation of the previous twenty. Almost all Hollywood remakes of today are terrible.

But Frankenstein isn’t.

So how did del Toro succeed where so many others fail?

I think it comes down to genuine love for the source material. Whenever I’ve seen del Toro talk about his films in interviews, he always radiates a deep affection for the stories he tells — and Frankenstein is no exception.

By contrast, when today’s filmmakers discuss Terminator, Star Wars, or Ghostbusters, they rarely sound like fans. Instead, they talk about how they can “adapt it for modern audiences” – which is just code for pervert it until it’s not like the original anymore at all.

It often seems that many modern moviemakers never even liked the originals they were handed. They’re just thrilled to have the chance to reshape them in their own image. Sure, del Toro had a vision for Frankenstein too — but his vision came from a place of admiration. In contrast, people like Kathleen Kennedy often seem to approach their projects from a sense of superiority, as if they could “do it better.”

But you can’t — not when the original was already great.

You can make a good Star Wars movie, sure. But you’ll never outdo George Lucas’s Star Wars. You can make a solid Matrix sequel, but you’ll never surpass the first one.

When you take over an already successful story, your first job is to honor what came before. That’s exactly what del Toro did with Frankenstein. He new Frankenstein was already great before him. So he didn’t try to outdo it; he simply tried to honor what was there before him and added his own style only for as long as it didn’t take anything from the original away.

The result is great movie.

Share Your Numbers Transparently

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My book sales are abysmal.

This week, I gave away another short story called The Last Portrait. I only shared the link on one specific social media profile to see if it would make any difference. It didn’t. As of today, I’ve had only two downloads — for a free book!

I started from zero, so I expected the numbers to be low in the beginning — and maybe for quite a while. Still, I decided to put my numbers out there.

And I’m doing it for two reasons:

1. It creates an authentic record of my progress.

Two downloads are terrible, sure — maybe even embarrassing to share. But ten years from now, this will be part of my story: how a beginner author with no audience tried to make something happen. Maybe I’ll fail completely. But if I do, at least this blog and my transparency will show what didn’t work.

2. It builds trust.

Most things online are fake. People claim all sorts of things on their profiles. How many “lifestyle influencers” out there are actually broke — just faking it until they make it? I’d guess a lot more than those who truly live the lives they portray. What they never show you is how they failed. No, they always succeed at everything. Sure…

With me, you get the real, authentic version — including the failures. That’s why, when I finally succeed at something, you’ll know you can trust me.

My YouTube tutorial channel now has over 11K subscribers. After my first year, I only had 59 subs. It’s still far from being life-changing, but it pays a few bills nowadays. I’m finally in a position where I can teach something about YouTube with real experience — and you can be sure I didn’t fake my way there.

The same will happen with my writing. Maybe in seven years, I’ll be able to say that my books help to pay the bills — maybe it’ll take even longer. But when that day comes, you can be sure I’m telling the truth, because I’ve been sharing my failures from day one — by sharing my numbers.

Author in Progress Report – October 2025

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Things have been improving — both personally and for my online projects. Writing is on track, my next big YouTube course is almost finished, and the numbers are going up. We’re getting somewhere.

Website

This was my first full month of daily blogging. After 31 articles, my views increased by 53%, and my user count went up by 94%.

The site is still small — I’ve only received a handful of comments, and it’s not like I’m selling many books through it — but the increase in traffic shows that writing more really helps.

I’ll keep writing daily for as long as I can, and as long as people stay interested. Maybe this daily approach is what will finally help me build a decent audience for my writing.

Numbers in October:

  • Pageviews: 338 (+53%)
  • Total Users: 213 (+94%)

Newsletter

The setup is done, but no one has really signed up yet. I need to find a way to get this moving.

Offering a free book to anyone who joins the list, plus weekly notifications about free Amazon book promos, should be enough incentive to subscribe.

Anything more would feel spammy — and I don’t want to be that guy. The internet already has enough spammers.

If you’d like a free book and want to stay updated on weekly free Amazon downloads, sign up here: Endless by Michael Brig

Free Books

I managed to get somewhat back on track with this project in October, although a strict weekly schedule turned out to be unrealistic due to other commitments.

STORY52

I’m still determined to publish all 52 short stories by the end of 2026. These stories will also serve as free weekly promos for years to come.

So far, I’ve written 38 stories — 8 of them are already published and available on Amazon. The plan is to write the remaining 14 stories in 2025. Editing, translating, and publishing all of them will then become a weekly task for 2026.

This month, I published Protocol Twilight (US – DE).

If you haven’t grabbed it for free yet, add it to your Amazon wishlist and wait for the next promo in a couple of months.

Protocol Twilight – Free Promo Downloads: Promo period from Monday, Oct 27 to Friday, Oct 31

  • German version: 13 downloads
  • English version: 4 downloads

Writing

I focused mainly on short stories this month — I think I wrote around 20 of them.
That focus, however, came at the expense of my novel writing and editing.

My goals for 2025 remain the same:

  • Finish writing another novel (working title: Influencer)
  • Release the first part of my 17 series (working title: Like a Rolling Stone)

Project Updates 2025

  • Forever – Released in July (US / DE)
  • Endless – Free book for newsletter subscribers, released in September (get it here)
  • 17 Series – Part 1 is 80% complete; target release before Christmas 2025
  • Therapy – Written; planned release early 2026
  • Crowley – Written; planned release summer 2026
  • Influencer – Currently outlining; goal to finish writing by end of 2025

I also plan to release a few more short stories this year — not weekly, but around 3–4 more should be manageable.

X / Twitter

This month’s Twitter updates brought even more censorship — especially in Germany. That made me rethink my efforts on the platform.

I’ll still share links to my articles and videos, and I’ll continue posting movie reviews whenever I watch something new. But for now, I won’t invest time in commenting, sharing, or creating unique content there.

There’s no point writing for Twitter when shadow banning buries your posts in oblivion.

But you can follow me here: @michael_brig

Instagram

No real changes here — I’m still just posting my book covers for now.

Follow me here: Michael Brig IG

YouTube

A better month overall!

I’m almost done with a 12-hour course about the new version of GIMP, which I’ll release for free on my tutorial channel. I also managed to produce almost daily Photoshop tutorials.

In addition, I created more video essays and launched a new personal channel:

    OnPaper follows my author journey — perfect if you’d rather watch and listen than read my articles.

    StoryLines is a video essay channel focused on storytelling in film and TV. The latest video covered the two Judge Dredd movies; next up is Disney’s Star Wars.

    BRIG is my new personal channel — just for fun. I plan to share thoughts and ideas for now. Later drone shots, bike rides, AI experiments, travel clips, and creative projects are planned. It’s simply a space to keep the creative energy flowing.

    Conclusion

    October was a much better month overall. The website grew, I started another YouTube channel, and the STORY52 project is back on track.

    Compared to September, my health has also improved. I’ve got a few doctor’s appointments next week — hopefully things continue getting better from here.

    Wish me luck!