How we write and edit in Lex (Live Session)

Editing is easier when you know the patterns_

When it comes to essay writing, the idea of “patterns over process,” is just as relevant.

Tootzi instilled a philosophy of “all that exists is the artifact that’s on the table.” It doesn’t matter if your ideas come from your mind, your heart, your soul, your belly button, the tops of mountains, a bottle ... See more

If you’re going to do high-level creative work, you have to accept the messiness of your initial creations, knowing that excellence is born from the sisters of patience and iteration. The second you start condemning young and fragile ideas, you’re toast.

The way to do a piece of writing is three or four times over, never once. For me, the hardest part comes first, getting something—anything—out in front of me. Sometimes in a nervous frenzy I just fling words as if I were flinging mud at a wall. Blurt out, heave out, babble out something—anything—as a first draft. With that, you have achieved a sort

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1:56:32 – writing as thinking and re-writing as re-thinking

The mathematical genius Alexander Grothendieck once had a metaphor for solving problems. He suggested that instead of forcing open an impossibly hard kernel with a hammer and chisel, one should simply let it sit in water and wait. Over time, the shell softens and opens with ease. This is also true in writing; time is the only non-substitutable ingr... See more

Historically, software has treated the words on your screen as a black box. To the computer, it’s just an arbitrary sequence of characters. But of course getting the right letters in the right order is all that matters.

We named “Lex” after “lexicon,” because we don’t treat your writing as just an arbitrary string of letters. Our goal is to build a... See more

I find that it’s in this search for aesthetic satisfaction that so many of the best lessons are found. I’m not talking about ornamentation or bells and whistles. I’m taking about the beauty of the four Cs: Clarity, cohesion, consistency, and conciseness. If you have the eye, you’ll recognize them easily (even if getting there isn’t quite so easy).

T... See more