@david_perell is writing 100 articles in 100 days.
The articles are about the creative process, knowledge management, and the mechanics of effective writing.
Here's a summary of the first 15 articles, distilled from 6000 words to 1500.
The articles are about the creative process, knowledge management, and the mechanics of effective writing.
Here's a summary of the first 15 articles, distilled from 6000 words to 1500.
Writing is R&D for Your Brain...
🔷It’s how you create intellectual capital
🔷It’s how you make your ideas permanent
🔷It’s the closest thing we have to time travel
🔷It’s how you create intellectual capital
🔷It’s how you make your ideas permanent
🔷It’s the closest thing we have to time travel
Once You Write Something, You Add Legos to Your Intellectual Capital...
🔷They’re the seeds of your future projects
🔷The more you have the more you can create
🔷Remix and reuse the ideas for life
🔷They’re the seeds of your future projects
🔷The more you have the more you can create
🔷Remix and reuse the ideas for life
As the Number of Artifacts Increases Linearly, the Number of Connections Increases Exponentially...
🔷These connections will save you thousands of hours over the course of your career
🔷You end up starting at mile 24 of a marathon
🔷These connections will save you thousands of hours over the course of your career
🔷You end up starting at mile 24 of a marathon
Write for One Obsessive Person...
🔷Writing comes alive at the extremes
🔷Ignore the wisdom of crowds
🔷Escape the lukewarm middle
🔷Attract an ocean of like-minded super fans
🔷Writing comes alive at the extremes
🔷Ignore the wisdom of crowds
🔷Escape the lukewarm middle
🔷Attract an ocean of like-minded super fans
Avoid Brackish Prose That Tries to be Everything to Everybody...
🔷The point of writing is to meet the kinds of people you'd never meet in real life
🔷The more you write for somebody with peculiar interests, the less you compete for attention
🔷The point of writing is to meet the kinds of people you'd never meet in real life
🔷The more you write for somebody with peculiar interests, the less you compete for attention
Don’t Wait to Start Writing Until You've Found Your Voice...
🔷Everybody has a voice, just like everybody has a personality
🔷But your voice won't reveal itself if you just sit back and think
🔷You have to write and publish frequently
🔷Everybody has a voice, just like everybody has a personality
🔷But your voice won't reveal itself if you just sit back and think
🔷You have to write and publish frequently
Socializing Your Ideas is How You Discover the Ways You're Different...
🔷You’re on your way once you want to be less like other people, not more
🔷Lean into your quirks and listen to the whispers of your intuition
🔷Nurture your differences with a cocktail of obscure influences
🔷You’re on your way once you want to be less like other people, not more
🔷Lean into your quirks and listen to the whispers of your intuition
🔷Nurture your differences with a cocktail of obscure influences
Learn to Write Fast...
🔷Have a note-taking system
🔷Collect your most relevant ideas
🔷Leverage the thinking you’ve already done
🔷Once you've compiled enough ideas, structure comes together like alchemy
🔷Have a note-taking system
🔷Collect your most relevant ideas
🔷Leverage the thinking you’ve already done
🔷Once you've compiled enough ideas, structure comes together like alchemy
If an Essay Demands Contemplation, Write Slower...
🔷But just as athletes do drills, writers should practice writing fast
🔷At minimum, writing fast forces you to improve your process
🔷At most, it will vastly increase your earnings power
🔷But just as athletes do drills, writers should practice writing fast
🔷At minimum, writing fast forces you to improve your process
🔷At most, it will vastly increase your earnings power
If You Suffer From Writer's Block, Generate Ideas by Talking...
🔷Record yourself talking about your thesis for 15 minutes
🔷Explain what you want to write
🔷Pretend like you're talking to a friend
🔷Use Otter to get an instant transcript of your ideas
🔷Record yourself talking about your thesis for 15 minutes
🔷Explain what you want to write
🔷Pretend like you're talking to a friend
🔷Use Otter to get an instant transcript of your ideas
Your Verbal Output Will Become the Raw Material for Articles...
🔷Remember, Winston Churchill wrote by dictating his thoughts
🔷Then, once his ideas were on the page, he revised them
🔷If it wasn't above Churchill, it isn't above you
🔷Remember, Winston Churchill wrote by dictating his thoughts
🔷Then, once his ideas were on the page, he revised them
🔷If it wasn't above Churchill, it isn't above you
Your Biggest Advantage Over Your Talking Self is Taking Time to Edit...
🔷Use that time to inject fun in your writing
🔷Add meaning with fresh word choice
🔷Make your writing sharper and more descriptive
🔷Paint over your mistakes until you achieve precision
🔷Use that time to inject fun in your writing
🔷Add meaning with fresh word choice
🔷Make your writing sharper and more descriptive
🔷Paint over your mistakes until you achieve precision
Avoid the Trap of Sounding Smart...
🔷There are words people know and say
🔷And there are words people don't know and don’t say
🔷Mine the depths of your brain for the language people know but don't say
🔷There are words people know and say
🔷And there are words people don't know and don’t say
🔷Mine the depths of your brain for the language people know but don't say
Instead of Writing Panoramic Thought Pieces, Focus Only On Your Shiny Dime...
🔷The dime is a tiny but detailed idea that's easy to visualize
🔷Imagine building a model airport and representing the control tower with a dime
🔷In writing, everything revolves around that dime
🔷The dime is a tiny but detailed idea that's easy to visualize
🔷Imagine building a model airport and representing the control tower with a dime
🔷In writing, everything revolves around that dime
Your Friends and Co-Workers Won't Judge You If Your Articles Isn't Comprehensive...
🔷But your writing will spiral out of control if you lack constraint
🔷Every topic is bigger than it seems at first
🔷Writing unlocks a kingdom of epiphanies you wouldn't have discovered otherwise
🔷But your writing will spiral out of control if you lack constraint
🔷Every topic is bigger than it seems at first
🔷Writing unlocks a kingdom of epiphanies you wouldn't have discovered otherwise
Consistency, Not a Magnum Opus, is What Breeds Success...
🔷Showing up every day, even in short stints, gets you in better shape than scattered, all-day workouts ever will
🔷If you're overwhelmed by the size of your topic, find the smallest viable idea you can write about
🔷Showing up every day, even in short stints, gets you in better shape than scattered, all-day workouts ever will
🔷If you're overwhelmed by the size of your topic, find the smallest viable idea you can write about
Organize Your Ideas with Post-It Notes...
🔷Write one idea per note, then hang the notes on the wall
🔷Hanging the notes makes your memory spatial
🔷Displaying them offloads your working memory to paper and increases your effective intelligence
🔷Write one idea per note, then hang the notes on the wall
🔷Hanging the notes makes your memory spatial
🔷Displaying them offloads your working memory to paper and increases your effective intelligence
Write as Many Notes as You Can Process in a Single Glance...
🔷Make sure each note represents one day’s worth of writing
🔷When you write, focus on one note
🔷Change the structure by moving notes around instead of creating a new outline from scratch
🔷Make sure each note represents one day’s worth of writing
🔷When you write, focus on one note
🔷Change the structure by moving notes around instead of creating a new outline from scratch
An Islands and Bridges Strategy Will Give You the License to Tackle Ambitious Essays...
🔷Before your ideas are clear and before you know how they connect, start with a collection of intellectual islands
🔷Don’t start with an outline
🔷Just jump in and get your thoughts on paper
🔷Before your ideas are clear and before you know how they connect, start with a collection of intellectual islands
🔷Don’t start with an outline
🔷Just jump in and get your thoughts on paper
Write About an Island Per Day...
🔷Write about an unlimited number of islands
🔷Represent each island with a Post-It note
🔷Write as well as you can about individual sections
🔷Create an archipelago of ideas
🔷Write about an unlimited number of islands
🔷Represent each island with a Post-It note
🔷Write as well as you can about individual sections
🔷Create an archipelago of ideas
Once You Find a Structure, Re-Order the Post-It Notes...
🔷Let the writing process rearrange the islands, then build bridges between them
🔷Reduce interdependencies and write transitions late in the writing process
🔷Don’t wait until you know what every sentence should look like
🔷Let the writing process rearrange the islands, then build bridges between them
🔷Reduce interdependencies and write transitions late in the writing process
🔷Don’t wait until you know what every sentence should look like
Your Productivity Hinges On How Fast You Can Ascend to the Skyway of Satisfaction...
🔷The Skyway is your flow state – it’s where you enjoy effortless focus
🔷The problem is the flow state ends when you stop writing for the day
🔷The Skyway is your flow state – it’s where you enjoy effortless focus
🔷The problem is the flow state ends when you stop writing for the day
At the End of the Skyway There's a Parking Lot...
🔷You can get in your car and drive away, or you can capture the view
🔷Capturing the view is a fast-pass to the Skyway the next time you write
🔷It’s how you reload the essay's context into your brain and decide what to do next
🔷You can get in your car and drive away, or you can capture the view
🔷Capturing the view is a fast-pass to the Skyway the next time you write
🔷It’s how you reload the essay's context into your brain and decide what to do next
The Next Time You Stop Writing, Take Three Minutes to Pen a 100-Word Note at the Top of Your Page...
🔷Write about where you’re stuck
🔷Write about what you plan to achieve next time
🔷Write about what you were thinking about when you stopped writing
🔷Write about where you’re stuck
🔷Write about what you plan to achieve next time
🔷Write about what you were thinking about when you stopped writing
Clichés are Ideas Without Surprise...
🔷They align with your worldview and cause you to turn off your mind
🔷They appear when the topic is either too broad, or common knowledge
🔷They stick out when you can predict the content by looking at the title
🔷They align with your worldview and cause you to turn off your mind
🔷They appear when the topic is either too broad, or common knowledge
🔷They stick out when you can predict the content by looking at the title
Insightful Ideas are Always Jarring; They Shock You Out of an Intellectual Slumber...
🔷The next time you write, avoid high level topics
Instead, zoom in and add a twist to a familiar subject
🔷Focus on under-explored topics
🔷Look for second- and third-order effects
🔷The next time you write, avoid high level topics
Instead, zoom in and add a twist to a familiar subject
🔷Focus on under-explored topics
🔷Look for second- and third-order effects
The Work is What Consumers Don't See...
🔷It’s the inelegant things you removed from the product
🔷You’re done when the product is so simple others think they could’ve done it themselves
🔷That means they won’t appreciate how hard you’ve worked
🔷It’s the inelegant things you removed from the product
🔷You’re done when the product is so simple others think they could’ve done it themselves
🔷That means they won’t appreciate how hard you’ve worked
Accept You'll Only Publish a Small Part of What You Type...
🔷Silence the part of your ego that wants to advertise your work ethic
🔷Make the work invisible
🔷Silence the part of your ego that wants to advertise your work ethic
🔷Make the work invisible
Musicians Copy, Writers Should Too...
🔷Aim for perfection but pay attention to your mistakes (they hold the seeds of your individuality)
🔷Imitation reveals our identity, especially when we fall short of those we admire
🔷Aim for perfection but pay attention to your mistakes (they hold the seeds of your individuality)
🔷Imitation reveals our identity, especially when we fall short of those we admire
Binge-Read Your Favorite Writers...
🔷Shamelessly copy their style
🔷Follow the beat of their sentences and cadence of their words
🔷Mirror the greats so intensely the glitter of their brilliance shines upon your craft
🔷Shamelessly copy their style
🔷Follow the beat of their sentences and cadence of their words
🔷Mirror the greats so intensely the glitter of their brilliance shines upon your craft
Writing Makes You a Better Speaker...
🔷Writing frequently helps you speak rhythmically
🔷Writing gives you a well of stories and stats
🔷Writing sharpens the substance of ideas
🔷Writing turns you into a carrier of ideas you’ve already penned
🔷Writing frequently helps you speak rhythmically
🔷Writing gives you a well of stories and stats
🔷Writing sharpens the substance of ideas
🔷Writing turns you into a carrier of ideas you’ve already penned
For the next 85 articles, follow along as David continues his "100 Days of Daily Writing."
ageofleverage.com/100
ageofleverage.com/100
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