the art of writing
advice from writers, and more on writing
Brie Wolfson and
the art of writing
The kind we love is focused, challenging, sustained, with a pen in hand, making note of new turns of phrase and peculiar, precise words, and feeling our brains get ever-so-slightly reconfigured by the text. The kind of reading we love requires a piece of text be worked over so many times that the author probably never wants to see it again. The kin... See more
It is the stuff about you that is odd that is interesting. So, don’t think to much about how you are supposed to do it, or what the genre convetions are. Just try to amuse yourself.
Another way to phrase it: the best writing tend to be when you surrender to your nature. This is hard to do!
Here is a classic pattern: you try really hard to do somethin
... See more1. The aim of my writing is never to make money. If there are opportunities, I will pay attention, but it is never the direct aim. I obsessively focus on other funding mechanisms such that I don't have to worry much about how to monetize writing.
2. I write for readers like me. I dislike a lot of the current trends in books. I think they dumb down t... See more
2. I write for readers like me. I dislike a lot of the current trends in books. I think they dumb down t... See more
Paul Millerd • Tweet
superb writing (and life) advice from paul millerd
Write of Passage
writeofpassage.school
INTERVIEWER: As your experience about writing accrues, what would you say increases with knowledge?
BALDWIN: You learn how little you know. It becomes much more difficult because the hardest thing in the world is simplicity. And the most fearful thing, too. It becomes more difficult because you have to strip yourself of all your disguises, some of w... See more
BALDWIN: You learn how little you know. It becomes much more difficult because the hardest thing in the world is simplicity. And the most fearful thing, too. It becomes more difficult because you have to strip yourself of all your disguises, some of w... See more
Cynthia Haven • James Baldwin: “You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone. That is the goal.”
Current AI writing tools are a great way to mass produce writing that is intensely mid, and makes you feel dead inside. Can we use AI to help the best writers do better work?
I don't know. But let's think about the bottlenecks for good writing.