The First and Best Writing Advice I Ever Received

Writing tip: The belief that the 1st draft must be good makes working on it an intimidating prospect that often leads to paralysis. So let the 1st draft be junk; it should be purely about getting from start to finish, nothing more. You really write the piece when you rewrite it.

"You won’t write well until you understand that writing is an evolving process, not a finished product. Nobody expects you to get it right the first time, or even the second time."

When Emerson wrote, “To be great is to be misunderstood,” he was not focused on developing a blockbuster, nor was he trying to appeal to the masses. But he was speaking a lot of truth.

Sometimes you’ll be ahead of your time or the joke won’t land or the recipient of your email won’t give you the time of day. Sometimes you’ll be the runner up. Someti... See more

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of... See more