on writing

When I sit down to write, the meadow is still engulfed in darkness under a sky where satellites pass by, one after the other. My thoughts are flighty and shapeless, like dreams; they morph as I approach them. But when I open my notebook and write, it is as if I pin my thoughts to the table. I can examine them.

The reason I've spent so long establishing this rather obvious point [that writing helps you refine your thinking] is that it leads to another that many people will find shocking. If writing down your ideas always makes them more precise and more complete, then no one who hasn't written about a topic has fully formed ideas about it. And someone who... See more

Writing a blog is not like writing for a publication. There is no preexisting audience you have to please. The audience is created as a reflection of your curiosity.

To grow skilled, you need to push yourself outside your comfort zone and put your goals a little beyond what you can pull off. But also? You need to finish and publish stuff because there are certain things you can only learn by finishing. Deadlines are the tool I use to balance this tradeoff. I tell myself, “I’m going to write the best piece I can... See more

A simple format: “Here is a problem I had and here’s how I solved it.” (Or, “I haven’t solved it yet but these are some reflections.”) Having a problem to solve, or a question that demands an answer, makes the text live and move. Otherwise, it is just a clump of words, and it is unclear why I should read on.

Don’t aim too high when you write your first posts. Maybe just do 500-word pieces, and do them with a simple format.

Not that many people will care about what you write, at least for the first few years, so make the writing useful to you. Write in a way that lets you refine your thoughts about the things that matter. Write to experience what you care about in higher resolution, write to enhance your feeling of aliveness.