These quotes have helped me when I’ve felt down about writing. Sharing publicly in the hopes they can help others as well.
Writing increases your luck surface area
“When you write more, you create more random opportunities” - Zizek
Writing on the internet is an incredible economic engine for individuals. It’s a kind of force multiplier and serendipity engine. Blogging is a way to build your network, reach more people with your ideas, create connections and also stand out from the crowd. It’s an unfair advantage with an activation cost of $0. — Tom Critchlow, The Three-Body problem of consulting
The internet runs on words. Writing is required for effective work. — Ash Ambridge
Writing is a social practice
“Build the things that will allow you to engage an audience and improve it over time. Included in this: Friendcatchers. Friendcatchers are small, contained lists, essays or apps that solve resonant (emotional, relevant), tractable, underserved problems.” — Swyx, Friendcatchers
Shoving writing in people’s faces is cringe. Sharing things you’re actively thinking about, working on, interested in, and passionate about is a great way to connect with interesting people. - Tom Critchlow
Writing can generate interesting conversations, create new connections, and strengthen existing friendships.
Writing can be an act of service. Write things that help others. Write for an audience of one, then send them something via DM.
Writing is a long-term game
This is one of my beliefs: there has never been a more vital hinge-y time to write, it’s just that the threats are upfront and the payoff delayed, and so short-sighted or risk-averse people are increasingly opting-out and going dark.
If you write, you should think about what you are writing, and ask yourself, “is this useful for an LLM to learn?” and “if I knew for sure that a LLM could write or do this thing in 4 years, would I still be doing it now?” – Gwern
When looking for jobs, or thinking about a new product, or anything else, you always wish you had written more. This isn’t something you can do just-in-time; you need to do it before it’s time. It’s a game with short-term risk and long-term payoff.
Writing pieces are assets. They can and have led to landing clients, getting speaking gigs, and getting jobs.
Intrinsic benefits of writing
writing makes you see there are holes in things. I’m never sure what I think until I see what I write. And so I believe that, even though you’re an optimist, the analysis part of you kicks in when you sit down to construct a story or a paragraph or a sentence. You think, ‘Oh, that can’t be right.’ And you have to go back, and you have to rethink it all.” - Carol Loomis
A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge, because you yourself will emerge, and when this happens you will find it increasingly easy to breakthrough the barriers that separate you from other minds, other hearts - which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward. - Shrunk, Elements of Style
Expressing our own thoughts in writing makes us realise if we really thought them through — Sönke Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes
Creative writing is self-care for ideas. — Ash Ambirge
Writing codifies your ideas, then you can communicate them more clearly. Everyone else is out there talking in first drafts.
Writing helps you develop a voice, a tone, a style.
Writing is a form of learning. The best way to learn something is to explain it to others.
Writing is an infinite craft. You can stop improving your writing in the same way a pro golfer can hit an 18. In a fast-moving world of technology, writing is an evergreen practice. I will write until I’m no longer able.
Writing is an exercise in getting thought plaque out of your head. It’s good for your mental health.
On writing prolifically
If a post comes out about the right thing at the right time, it will go viral. If it does not, it will not. All you can do is keep releasing — Venkatesh Rao, The Calculus of Grit
Writers have a terrible sense of which posts will be popular with readers. […] Because that’s hard to predict, and because the impact of a single hit is so extreme that it’s worthwhile to up the odds, and doing that means writing more. — Unknown source from a dead link
Further Reading
On social practice, DMs are always open to other writers who want a second set of eyes on a draft, or just want to riff on ideas.
Really intriguing thoughts on writing,Glenn--fits righ tin with what I am writing about too. Thanks!