LL Marketing

One trick for getting yourself to write is to only write sections that immediately interest you. Perhaps it's the middle of a post—that's okay. You don't have to write in order.

Sit down and write any three paragraphs you can. And do it fast. You'll find that by forcing yourself to start with speed, momentum carries you forward.

Under each talking point in an outline, I start by writing partially-formed thoughts.

It’s more efficient to speedrun through a bad first draft and improve it later than to try starting from completion.

It’s normal if few ideas come to mind immediately. You’ll discover that the majority of your ideas arrive while writing—not before. You write in... See more

In addition to interesting talking points, you're also looking for surprising ideas.

Surprise is anything that contradicts what readers know or expect you to say. It makes them think, “Wow. That’s unexpected.”

You generate surprising talking points using essayist Paul Graham’s method: First, learn the basic knowledge of a topic. Then, if you can... See more

Getting feedback is the most efficient way to improve your writing. This is not optional. Giving feedback is as important: giving it to others forces you to internalize the learnings from this handbook.

When rewriting, one of our goals is to be understood.

Readers don't assess the quality of nonfiction by its elegance nor its complexity. Instead, the quality of nonfiction emerges from:

How strong its ideas are x how much those ideas resonate

You get in the way of resonating when your ideas are unclear.

Ask for feedback from the audience you’re writing for. Here’s a template:

It would be helpful if you read my article slowly to transcribe the reactions you have while reading it. For example:

1. Tell me what to delete — When you notice your interest is fading, you can say “I'm drifting here. This isn’t compelling and it isn’t adding value. Get to the

... See more

A hook is a half -told story. You raise a question then tease only part of the answer:

• Questions —Pose an intriguing question, but don’t give the full answer.


• Narratives — Share the start of a narrative, but withhold the conclusion.


• Research —Highlight research findings, but only a small portion.


• Arguments — Make an unexpected claim, but don't explain

... See more