on writing

thoughts about writing

Before you write anything, ask yourself the 3 following questions.

Why do you write?

When you write a document there is always a selfish reason. You want to get something from your audience. Share some information, ask them to do something (subscribe, buy). Start with Why.

Who is your audience?

You need to know who you are writing for, the

Raphael Moutard • Writing the Amazon Way

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Writing fiction often contains an element of self-hypnosis, of flying in the dark.

Teju Cole • Black Paper: Writing in a Dark Time (Berlin Family Lectures)

Writing of something you’ve done yourself is all you need to add life to a book, and that breath can fly into new stories.

DBC Pierre • Release the Bats: Writing Your Way Out Of It

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. —Ernest Hemingway

Tom White • How to Write Anything

You can't think well without writing well, and you can't write well without reading well.

Paul Graham • The Need to Read

Writing is like driving a car at night: you never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. —E.L. Doctorow