Julian Shapiro Profile picture
Jun 11, 2021 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
What’s the most beautiful piece of writing you’ve ever come across?

Bonus points if you can screenshot a paragraph and share it below. I’ll consider including it in my writing guide.

Props to anyone who takes the time ❤️
I'll start with some great ones from last time:

From @amamyyang Image
From @VCFryer Image
By @RavenLeilani and from @kaleighf Image
From @zahrakhan Image
By Molly Brodak and from @michelleqin_ Image
From @Ugo_alves Image

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More from @Julian

Feb 14
Ever notice this about crazy good writing?

There's actually an equation to it:

Great writing = Novelty x Resonance^2

• Novelty is what no one has seen before
• Resonance is *how much it grabs you*

Watch how Deadpool + The Boys exploit this. Here's how to tell great stories:
First, let's consider classics like Gladiator and Shawshank Redemption.

They tell clichéd stories as old as time. Gladiator fights and revenge arcs.

NOT a lot of novelty there.

However, they've resonated far more than other films for decades.

Why?
Because they resonate so deeply—by being *harrowing* and *cathartic.*

These resonant qualities overcome their (relative) lack of novelty.

Because, fundamentally, we really want to feel.

What is resonance exactly?
Read 13 tweets
Nov 8, 2023
I'm finally done. I automated my home with 30+ smart home gadgets.

Sensors are everywhere—all across the farm. I feel like a crazy person.

My most clever home automations so far:
First, another breakthrough on preventing bugs: In addition to solving mosquitos (see the last tweet on my profile), I've solved flies too.

Buy this product, trust me:

"RESCUE! Outdoor Disposable Hanging Fly Trap"

The most effective fly trap on Amazon. Image
It's a mix of natural smells that flies can't resist. They choose it over you even when you're cooking meat.

Once they're inside that bag, they're trapped.

Use 2 bags, each 30 feet away from you. Replace monthly. Hallelujah.
Read 22 tweets
Jun 20, 2023
i finally did it! i eliminated all mosquitos. haven't seen one in ages

the technique:

- fill buckets with water, dirt, grass
- place buckets in shade, spread 50ft apart
- put a "mosquito dunk" ($0.50 each) in each
- wait 6 weeks

that's it!

it works because...

Image
Image
Image
mosquitos like to lay eggs in stale water. that's why you put dirt and grass in the buckets—to produce "old water" chemical reactions for them to sense. they like stale water because it's likely to remain, which means their eggs can hatch

now, you see that donut thing? well...
that mosquito "dunk" contains a harmless-to-humans bacteria that kills eggs once laid

as long as you have no other sources of stagnant water on your property (first address that), they have nowhere else to bread but in your buckets

mosquitos only live for a few weeks, SO...
Read 7 tweets
May 26, 2023
John Mayer and Billie Eilish use the same technique to avoid writer's block. John explains it so beautifully below:

After, watch Billie explain it from another angle 🧵
In short, they're constraining creative scope.

Billie calls it "perimeters."

They do this because the brain freezes when facing too large of a canvas. It doesn’t know which path to choose, and it worries each is wrong.

In other words: Instead of writing a movie...
... write a spy movie.

Instead of writing a song, write a love song.

Constrain.

Only when the constrained version is decent do you optionally expand the scope into something bigger.

However, we have a problem. Constraints help avoid overwhelm, but not generate great ideas...
Read 16 tweets
May 20, 2023
I want to explain why venture capitalists give 21 year olds $30,000,000 to pursue startup ideas.

What's going through their heads?

What specifically are investors looking for today?

Here's how I've seen VCs' minds work after 4 years:
For context, most of my day is spent intro'ing founders to investors:

• I run a seed fund: Julian.capital
• I built VCSheet.com (free) to help founders find VCs
• I run SeedChecks.com for founders to meet well-known angels
I'm writing this thread because many founders are struggling to understand why VCs aren't interested in their startups.

The first thing founders should know:
Read 72 tweets
Mar 25, 2023
I went to a "hifi audio" store and listened to a $160,000 pair of speakers 😂 I need to explain what happened. 🧵
It started with me seeing a famous YouTuber crying his eyes out in a thumbnail

I clicked

He's notorious for calling out fake sales claims

Here, he tests $4K headphones said to play music so intensely they make you involuntarily cry. He roasts 'em.

Then 11min later.. he cries. Image
🤔

Are you telling me that, with the aid of clever engineering, speakers can tickle your brain into a state of catharsis—on command?

How did I not know this was a thing?
Read 25 tweets

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