On writing
One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.
Dillard, Annie • The Writing Life
It makes me think of the quote by Vladimir Horowitz: "If I skip practice for one day, I notice. If I skip practice for two days, my wife notices. If I skip practice for three days, the world notices."
Who will teach me to write? a reader wanted to know.
The page, the page, that eternal blankness, the blankness of eternity which you cover slowly, affirming time’s scrawl as a right and your daring as necessity; the page, which you cover woodenly, ruining it, but asserting your freedom and power to act, acknowledging that you ruin everything you
... See moreDillard, Annie • The Writing Life
But when Gertrude Stein declined to label her desire as lesbian, she was, as I understand it, saying something like this: thinking in categories would interfere with my ability to freely pattern-match for the particular type of individual I resonate with.
Some people think Stein was lying when she said she wasn’t lesbian. And they are disappointed... See more
Some people think Stein was lying when she said she wasn’t lesbian. And they are disappointed... See more
Looking for Alice
Metalabel Guide - How It Works
metalabel.com
How do you get from starting small to doing something great? By making successive versions. Great things are almost always made in successive versions. You start with something small and evolve it, and the final version is both cleverer and more ambitious than anything you could have planned.
Paul Graham • How to Do Great Work
Recently, I saw this question on Twitter: “What is the equivalent of a musician practicing scales for what you do?”
For me, it’s thinking and ideating. These are the activities of my core work. I seek to understand problems better, and develop my and others’ ideas further.
Saying “ideas don’t matter; only shipping products matter” to a product... See more
For me, it’s thinking and ideating. These are the activities of my core work. I seek to understand problems better, and develop my and others’ ideas further.
Saying “ideas don’t matter; only shipping products matter” to a product... See more
The merit of ideas and ideation
“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”
William Zinsser, On Writing Well
