on writing
cafes really should have a ‘newsletter of the week’ noticeboard because half the people in them are probably writing substacks
olivia rafferty on Substack
The way to get novelty is to write about topics you've thought about a lot. Then you can use yourself as a proxy for the reader in this department too. Anything you notice that surprises you, who've thought about the topic a lot, will probably also surprise a significant number of readers. And here, as with correctness and importance, you can use... See more
Matter
Bernadette Mayer's Writing Experiments
writing.upenn.edu
People read nonfiction to learn and to feel. My framework for ensuring a blog post accomplishes both is to start with a first draft that focuses on "novel" ideas.
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
- Counter-intuitive —
julian.com • Writing Well - Part 1 - What to Write About
Takeaways from Jerry Seinfeld on Tim Ferriss:
To survive in comedy you have to be a writer
“As any writer can tell you it’s 95% re-write”
“I think I could solve just about anyone’s life, I don’t care what you do, with weight training and transcendental meditation” Jerry Seinfeld
“If you could take your experiences and ask to trade them in, the last
My strategy is loose, then tight. I write the first draft of an essay fast, trying out all kinds of ideas. Then I spend days rewriting it very carefully.
Matter
