Bethany
@bethanyb
Bethany
People read nonfiction to learn and to feel. My framework for ensuring a blog post accomplishes both is to start with a first draft that focuses on "novel" ideas.
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
- Counter-intuitive —
julian.com • Writing Well - Part 1 - What to Write About
"The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice.
Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge
... See more“Nobody ignores what moves them. …
It means people might see you. But they don’t feel you. And if they don’t feel you, they forget you. …
You find the ONE thing only you can say. And you own it so hard that people have to talk about you. …
Here’s the test: If I take your name off your content… would people still know it’s you?”
[edited for brevity]
... See more“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” (Gospel of Thomas, 70)
"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
— C.S. Lewis
"I was waiting for something extraordinary to happen, but as the years wasted on, nothing ever did unless I caused it.”
—Charles Bukowski
Markets are underpinned by property rights, which are defined and enforced by the state. They are further shaped by company law, intellectual property law, employment law, taxation, regulation, the decisions of central banks and so on – and are administered through the use of courts, regulators and various other public bodies. The outcomes we
... See more