Writing

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something—a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things—that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it’s as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”

"In many cases, what you hope to learn by reading books or listening to podcasts can only be learned by attempting what you fear. Some knowledge is only revealed through action."

The key is understanding that each part serves a purpose:

• The opening breaks their mental pattern


• The body makes them see themselves in your words


• The payoff gives them something they'll remember (and save)

“The best way to think is to write.”

As a creator, your job is to find ONE idea that resonates, and then say it a thousand times.

I’ve found this a remarkably useful practice in the early stages of drafting, because it reverses the usual order of things. Instead of holding back from writing until you know what you want to say – which leads to a vicious circle of stopping, deleting, and rewriting everything a hundred times – the commitment to keeping moving means you just writ... See more

"When one worldview dominates your thinking, you'll try to explain every problem you face through that worldview. Read widely and realize there are many answers."

The best storyteller in the world, Matthew Dicks, on the principle of but and therefore:

“A clear majority of human beings tend to connect their sentences, paragraphs, and scenes together with the word and.

This is a mistake. The ideal connective tissue in any story are the words but and therefore, along with all their glorious synonyms. These buts ... See more

"How to clarify a concept you can't articulate:

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1. Change mediums. Draw it. Photograph it. Sing it.

2. Change levels. Explain what is one level up (bigger picture) or one level down (finer details).

3. Change fields. What would this concept look like in different fields?"