don't just think, write!

Practical things you can do to make your text clearer.

Open two copies of the same document and put them side-by-side. Edit in one, while referring to the other.

Rewrite your first draft using this rule: no significant words from the first draft are allowed in the second draft.

If your sentence has more than two commas in it, it’s probably too long.

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The Cult of Done Manifesto

1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.


2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.


3. There is no editing stage.


4. Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.


5. Banish

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Step 1

Pick a topic

Step 2

Read and/or discuss with others (a bit)

Step 3

Explain and defend my current, incredibly premature hypothesis, in writing (or conversation)

Step 4

Find and list weaknesses in my case

Step 5

Pick a subquestion and do more reading/discussing

Step 6

Revise my claim / switch sides

Step 7

Repeat steps 3-6 a bunch

Step 8

Get... See more

This is why writing is important. It’s harder to fool yourself that you understand something when you sit down to write about it and it comes out all disjointed and confused. Writing forces clarity

Boredom is just “What’s the use?” in disguise. And “What’s the use?” is fear, and fear means you are secretly in despair. So put your fears on the page.