writing and creativity

The word “essay” has a brilliant etymological journey. It is derived from essayer in French, meaning ‘to endeavour’ or ‘to attempt’ or ‘to do one’s utmost.’ An essay, in other words, is a humble, tentative effort. When we write essays we are simply trying to explain our thoughts, trying to share our feelings, trying to connect with others.

Harry Dry rules for copywriting:

1) A great sentence is a good sentence made shorter.

2) Writing great copy begins with having something to say in the first place.

3) Copy is like food. How it looks matters.

4) Since the look of copy matters so much, don't write copy in Google Docs. Write it in Figma (so you can write and design at the same time).

5) Ka

"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?"

(James Clear newsletter)

If you work on anything worthwhile, sooner or later people will care about it and will want you to send progress updates. These could be quarterly investor updates, weekly updates to your boss, emails to adjacent teams, etc. Here are tips on how to do this well.

1. Understand your role, and with each update add to the body of evidence that you’re a goo

There are two halves to a thinker. One is about the intention behind the mind: it covers the life you cultivate, your mental composition, the discipline of your attention, and your capacity for wonder, excitement, and creation. This is honest work that is immune to shortcuts. The other half is the expressive outlet: learning the theories of civiliz

Creativity is not a process. creativity is not scripted.

One of the most salient traits of creative visionaries like Walt Disney and Steve jobs is the absence of process.

Process is an organized way of doing things. But they didn’t have a process. They just did the work. No strict adherence to budget or timelines. Just figure things out on the fly.

Creativity is about connection—you must be connected to others in order to be inspired and share your own work—but it is also about disconnection. You must retreat from the world long enough to think, practice your art, and bring forth something worth sharing with others. You must play a little hide-and-seek in order to produce something worth bein

"To do the work, we need to rest, to read, to reconnect. It is the invisible labor that makes creative life possible."

I used to write about "creative productivity" - until, slowly, I realized that trying to be "productive" while making creative work is like trying to train a wild, mysterious jungle cat. it is not a dog. it will not obey you. the cat will do whatever it wants - when it wants. however, even wild animals have rhythms, routines, and safe spaces. inste

The truth is that one day you hate yourself, and the next day you can’t wait to use your gifts

-Adam Jk