On writing
"That for which we find words is something that is already dead in our hearts. There is always a kind of contempt in the act of speaking."
— Nietzche
I disagree with this.
When I have a piece of writing in mind, what I have, in fact, is a mental bucket: an attractor for and generator of thought. It’s like a thematic gravity well, a magnet for what would otherwise be a mess of iron filings. I’ll read books differently and listen differently in conversations. In particular I’ll remember everything better; everything wi... See more
jsomers.net • More People Should Write
“I want to do a different thing. I want to actually improve over time. I want to develop my own takes. I want to understand everything. And this is how the podcast improves over the long run too - by me becoming smarter and learning more shit. That is the underlying beta. Everything else is a temporary benefit at best (and more often, a total
... See moreEvery time I cut something, I'll never delete it. I just copy and paste it under a line at the bottom of the document. That's how I know I'm making progress – the graveyard gets larger and larger and the only things that are left alive are the things I didn't think I should kill.
Write it down
"Most good material is forgotten. Write down the funniest or most interesting thing that happens to you each day. Most days will be boring, but if you write something each day, then you'll have 5 to 10 entertaining stories within a year or two. People are sitting on more funny stories than they realize because they do not have a habit
Why essays spread
“Every article has thrust and drag. The thrust of a piece is what motivates readers to invest the energy necessary to extract its meaning. It is the reason they click. Drag is everything that makes the reader’s task harder, such as meandering intros, convoluted sentences, abstruse locution and even little things like a missing Oxfo
... See moreEllen Fishbein consulting Matt Lerner on his manuscript:
“Matt, you’re a good writer, but this is not a good book.”
Ouch.
“It doesn’t have a thesis.”
A thesis?
“Every great nonfiction book,” she explained, “presents a focused thesis.” For example:
The Black Swan - Individual outlier events are rare, but collectively, they occur oft