✎ On writing

Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which an argument attempts to prove its conclusion by using the conclusion itself as evidence. It essentially states, "This is true because it's true," without providing any real supporting evidence, effectively going in a circle without reaching a valid conclusion.

If you find a sentence that feels

Binary thinking makes for compelling soundbites but weak arguments. They lack nuance. When you see an “either/or” statement, ask:

• Are these really the only two options?

• Is there a middle ground? (Reader, this is the one question I am asking in all areas of my life right now. The answer for everything lives in the middle of two extremes.)

Instead

Begin with a good quote. Hide the attribution in the middle. End with a good quote.

Some teachers refer to this as the 2-3-1 tool of emphasis, where the most emphatic words or images go at the end, the next most emphatic at the beginning, and the least emphatic in the middle, but that's too much calculus for my brain. Here's my simplified version:

Writing, specifically creative writing, is a path to better understanding yourself and your lens on the world.

First drafts tend to be a bit chaotic because writing is, at its core, a process of discovery. When you first put those initial words on the page, you’re essentially thinking out loud—trying to make sense of a topic, find connections, and articulate ideas that may not yet be fully formed.

I call this building a “dump doc.”​ This exploratory phase is

There’s a lot of writing out there in the world, but the stuff that stands out in our modern, noisy world seems to follow one approach: It takes a stance.

Everyone fears the long sentence. Editors fear it. Readers fear it.

Most of all, writers fear it. Even I fear it. Look. Another short one.

Shorter. Fragments. Frags. Just letters. F... f... f... f. Can I write a sentence without words? Just punctuation? #:!?

Write what you fear. Until the writer tries to master the long sentence, she is no writer at

Here’s how The Socratic Method works:

• Understand the belief: See if your writing clearly states its thesis.

• Reflect : Summarize the thesis and clarify your understanding in simple language.

• Gather evidence : See if you’ve provided solid evidence for the thesis with data, analysis, and facts.

• Challenge assumptions : Question the thesis’s