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David Perell Profile picture
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3 May, 5 tweets, 2 min read
The Simpsons secret to writing: Create an imperfect world, then improve it.
First, flood the page with ideas. Then, edit.

“Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all the way through as fast as I can, the first day, if possible.”

(h/t @MarketPowerYT)

newyorker.com/culture/the-ne…
The writers for The Simpsons were completely independent.

Since not even executives received advanced copies of the scripts, all the writers had to do was please themselves.
Learn to write fast.

At most, it’ll help you get all of your ideas out fast so you can start revising them. At the very least, it’ll make your writing process more efficient.

To help you do it, here's my mini-essay.
My entire professional life is devoted to the craft of online writing, and if you want to improve your writing process, you’ll like my 50-day email series.

Sign up below.

ageofleverage.com/50-days-of-wri…

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More from @david_perell

David Perell Profile picture
30 Apr
New essay: A couple years ago, I realized that I knew embarrassingly little about Christianity.

So, I decided to change that. That search led me to history of human rights and the moral underpinnings of Western culture.

Here’s what I discovered.

perell.com/essay/why-your…
I didn’t think this piece would resonate.

But in terms of quality responses in the first 24 hours, it’s the most successful essay I’ve ever written.

Never have I experienced such a flood of responses — and I particularly love the personal stories of religious transformation.
Religious or not, every Westerner bathes in the waters of Christian ideology.

We are desensitized to Christianity’s influence on Western thought not because it’s irrelevant, but because it’s so all-consuming.
Read 5 tweets
David Perell Profile picture
5 Apr
Some paradoxes of modern life:

1. The paradox of reading: The books you read will profoundly change you even though you’ll forget the vast majority of what you read.
2. The paradox of writing: Great writing looks effortless. But because the ideas are so clear, casual readers don't appreciate how much time it took to refine them.
3. The paradox of creativity: Your work is done when it looks so simple that the consumer thinks they could've done it, which means they won't appreciate how hard you worked.
Read 14 tweets
David Perell Profile picture
1 Apr
I like the motto: “Don’t put-spend your competitors. Out-teach them.”

If you have a unique perspective, a solid product, and know how to spread your message on the Internet, you don’t have to spend money on paid marketing.
For information products, the Internet is inverting the way we’ve always done things:

Old method: Say little in public, share everything with customers.

New method: Say everything in public, but distill and refine ideas for customers.

(Simplified, but directionally true.)
“Education is a soft way to get your name — and your product’s name — in front of more people.

And instead of a hard sell “buy this product” approach, you’re getting attention by providing a valuable service.

People who you educate will become your evangelists.”

— @jasonfried
Read 4 tweets
David Perell Profile picture
29 Mar
To improve higher education, we should have different schools for two different styles of learning:

1) Get a job: Earn a living so you can support your family

2) Live a meaningful life: Give students a space to think and learn about themselves, away from the demands of work
Broadly, American colleges were built to give students a place to intellectually explore.

But recently, we’ve asked them to pivot into vocational training — which isn’t what they’re designed for. Now, we’re stuck with a vocational system that takes way longer than it should.
To their credit, colleges have been doubling down on technical training in response to student demands.

Something clearly changed after the Financial Crisis. Since 2008, students have opted out of Liberal Arts majors and moved towards vocational ones instead.
Read 7 tweets
David Perell Profile picture
25 Mar
Homeschooling is the trend I’m most bullish on relative to how little attention it receives.

Institutional trust is falling, online education is getting better fast, smartphones are getting cheaper, and it’s getting easier for parents to team up and educate their kids together.
Homeschooling reminds me of the taxi industry in 2008.

In ride-sharing, smartphones vastly expanded the market. Homeschooling will benefit from computers, Internet adoption, and learning-focused video games.

Expect lower costs and schools that operate at a global scale.
Right now, the top two reasons why parents don't homeschool their children are (1) it seems lonely for the kid, and (2) parents can't stay home to homeschool.

Camps and learning pods will emerge to solve the 1st problem and online schools will solve the 2nd one.

Source: @usv Image
Read 4 tweets
David Perell Profile picture
23 Mar
Kendrick Lamar one of the world's best writers.

His recent album, Damn, won a Grammy and a Pulitzer-Prize award. His writing is propelled by a note-taking system that helps him capturing the ideas behind his lyrics.

Here's what you can learn from his note-taking system.
1. Note-taking is the closest thing we have to time-travel.

By taking notes, Kendrick conserves precious ideas, develops them over time, and eventually turns them into art. Taking notes doesn't just help him save ideas. It helps him return to a different state of consciousness.
2. Start taking notes early, so you can build upon the ideas over time.

Kendrick was a shy middle schooler who sometimes spoke with a stutter. Frustrated, he turned to the written word. He scribbled rap lyrics on notebook paper instead of finishing assignments for other classes.
Read 12 tweets

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