writing
I publish essays nearly weekly now, but that is not a reasonable cadance at all if you are learning to write. The first year I wrote my blog, in 2021, I managed to publish 5 pieces. In 2022: 8. It was basically the only thing I did in my spare time.
Henrik Karlssonsubstack.comPerhaps you're the same kind of non- Writer writer. The playful amateur kind who uses it to explore and communicate ideas, rather than making the medium part of your identity. But even amateurs want to be good. I certainly want to get good.
Maggie Appleton • The Finest Narrative Non-Fiction Essays
Seeing your ideas crumble can be a frustrating experience, but it is the point if you are writing to think. You want it to break. It is in the cracks the light shines in.
Henrik Karlsson • How to Think in Writing
Goals Set the Line Between Ambition & Enjoyment
substack.com
Links on the Internet last forever or a year, whichever inconveniences you more. This is a major problem for anyone serious about writing with good references, as link rot will cripple several percent of all links each year, and compounding.
Essays
I think I want to write essays that are like jazz improvisations: spend a lot of time building up rigorous ways of thinking and gathering stories, but then, in the moment of writing, I pull on that improvisationally in relation to a structural idea that provides momentum
Henrik Karlssonsubstack.com
By making clear and sharp claims, I reveal my understanding so that I—or the person I’m writing to—can see the state of my knowledge and direct their feedback to the point where it will help my thinking improve.
This is valuable to do even in areas where you know way too little to “warrant” an opinion.
This is valuable to do even in areas where you know way too little to “warrant” an opinion.
Henrik Karlsson • How to Think in Writing
