writing
A question worth asking:
When there is so much on the web, it is easy to fall prey to the impression that this has been done before when you come up with an idea. When this happens, ask: ‘What is my take on this?’
When there is so much on the web, it is easy to fall prey to the impression that this has been done before when you come up with an idea. When this happens, ask: ‘What is my take on this?’
When you write online, there are strong incentives to write prose that is tightly packed with insights and fast moving and a little intense—to catch and hold attention. That can feel limiting. I wonder what is the slowest, calmest piece I could write that would still work?
From henrik karlsson
What I’m in search of is maybe hard to explain in a neat sentence, but, maybe, it’s some sense of resonance. You know when you’re reading and you’re like “Oh, this person is saying this thing I’ve been thinking or feeling forever, but didn’t know how to express in words?” That’s a beautiful feeling when you can see yourself more clearly through som... See more
On the value of being a beginner
A writing example: when I look back in my notes I realize so much of what I write about today I was ruminating about 2-3 years ago. I always knew what I was going to say. I just didn’t have the tools, I didn’t have the maturity, I didn’t have the language or sensitivity to beauty to recognize what that was. So much of what I learned was latent, une... See more
Nix 🕊 • things that take time
Why do I care about these topics ?
What is it about these topics that’s interesting to me ?
Whatever the answer is, that’s where your writing begins.
You’re just trying to find readers who have the same questions you do.
Which means that the act of writing for a reader is the act of trying to find those answers—those further questions beyond—together.
What is it about these topics that’s interesting to me ?
Whatever the answer is, that’s where your writing begins.
You’re just trying to find readers who have the same questions you do.
Which means that the act of writing for a reader is the act of trying to find those answers—those further questions beyond—together.
{D} 119: Yes but what's your question
Not everything I’ve produced is so obviously wrong—a lot of it is wrong in subtler ways. Even writing I produced a year ago, I’m really not sure about. The rate of learning in my life is high, and there are axioms I took for granted quite recently which I now feel shifting. Looking back on writing I did about my abundant happiness, I can see that t... See more
Almost everything I've written seems wrong now
There’s that Oscar Wilde quote: “Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.”
Power in all its sundry shades of that which we want but cannot be sure that we have: status, respect, desire.
Maybe that’s what I really want when I’m writing?
Writing stuff in the 21st century (that’s this one) means writing online, and writing ... See more
Power in all its sundry shades of that which we want but cannot be sure that we have: status, respect, desire.
Maybe that’s what I really want when I’m writing?
Writing stuff in the 21st century (that’s this one) means writing online, and writing ... See more
All Day I Dream About Substack (ADIDAS)
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 —