the art of writing

Writing advice from Lenny Rachitsky:

If you want to have an existential breakdown, try to make each sentence an aesthetic masterpiece. Ditch the poetry and focus on clarity instead.

“Every time I think about how to write beautifully, I just get stuck and it just slows everything down.” ​

INTERVIEWER:
Do you find emotional stability is necessary in order to write? Or can you get to work whatever your state of mind? Is your mood reflected in what you write? How do you describe that perfect state in which you can write from early morning into the afternoon?

OATES:
One must be pitiless about this matter of “mood.” In a sense, the writing

“Most of all: the point is to aim for writing that enhances your feeling of aliveness, that lets you refine your thoughts about what matters, lets you experience with more nuance what you care about, lets you enrichen the texture of your mind.”

-Henrik Karlsson