Make hay while the sun shines

“Make hay while the sun shines” is the practical maxim Harold Oblowski uses to urge Michael Noonan to keep writing while his career is secure. Repeated in conversations about Michael’s next book and a possible multi-book contract, the expression sets urgency against Michael’s preference to address future choices only when they arrive.

First Use as Career Advice

Discussing Michael’s successful novel, Harold praises it as both a strong read and serious work, then asks whether Michael is having trouble with the next one. Michael insists that he is not. Harold’s pause gives way to a warning about the precariousness of a writer’s position: even a steady, established author may not recover from a five-year break. The maxim distills that argument into a demand to use the opportunity while it lasts. Michael answers that Harold has taken the words right out of his mouth, momentarily aligning himself with the advice. The exchange also sets up a contrast between the apparent confidence of that reply and Michael’s subsequent distance from Sara Laughs, the Maine retreat shown in a photograph after the call. His career and his reluctance to return to the house occupy adjacent parts of the narrative, though the expression itself is specifically about making the most of professional success.

Repeated in the Contract Discussion

When Harold later negotiates with Michael’s publishers, Michael asks him to discuss only one book, with an incentive for faster production. Harold agrees after a significant pause but hopes Michael will still consider a three- or four-book contract later. He invokes the maxim again, calling it the motto of champions. Its recurrence moves the phrase from general career counsel into a concrete disagreement about the scope and timing of Michael’s publishing commitment. Michael counters with a different maxim: “Cross each bridge when you come to it is the motto of champions,” he says. Rather than accept Harold’s emphasis on acting before an opportunity passes, Michael favors postponing decisions about future contracts until they become immediate. That night he dreams of returning to Sara Laughs, linking the exchange to the recurring dream of the retreat without resolving the tension between Harold’s urgency and Michael’s deferral.

Meaning in Context

The expression carries a double force in these scenes. Harold presents it as a matter of professional survival: a writer who is not at the very top may lose the ground gained during a prolonged absence. Michael’s playful reversal challenges the assumption that planning ahead is necessarily the champion’s course. The two maxims frame distinct attitudes toward uncertainty—seize the present opportunity, or meet each future obligation when it arrives—while Michael’s choice to limit the proposed contract gives that difference practical consequence.