the art of writing

You can’t write a viral essay that says “it’s complicated and I’m not sure.” But this is the only path to truly novel insight.

Chekhov: “The task of a writer is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly.”

Writing gave words permanence. Typewriters reduced the friction between having a thought and transferring it onto a page. Computers reduced the cost of editing thoughts after you typed them. The internet made it possible to send your words anywhere, instantly, for zero cost. And now AI will help you think through ideas more completely as you type... See more

It reminds me of writing and how I wake up week after week and get stuck on the blank page again and again. How I always despair that I have no more good ideas and, even if I did, not enough eloquence to convey said ideas. But I love it still. I love how writing brings everything to the surface, how it generates and absorbs my attention. How it

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Excellence is the war you wage until every trace of the struggle disappears