I've always been criticized for being a long-form writer. It seemed like the natural equivalent of being talkative. I had tried to cut my writing and ideas down to copy forms. Writing like I'm a seller. And I accidentally turned one; I sold my art of writing, but it wasn't bringing any profit.
Reading this reiterates the fact that my writing is an inherent skill, and if the ideas can't stop flowing, I shouldn't stop writing.
Resonate with this: "Conversations with others is probably the most important thing that drives most of my writing." And it works the other way too. Writing inspires conversations. So it's a positive feedback loop.
"The real magic of writing about ideas is that the more things you write about, the more things you want to write about."
--> It resonates me so well, I used to have fear to find topics to talk about, but as I put more hours of writing, naturally it all comes to me easier than ever. I'm not saying it's super easy, but it gets better for sure.
Mass market success bores me. I have a specific kind of reader in mind with my writing and I write for them.
--> The problem with chasing algorithm. These words remind me again why do I write in the first place because I want to share what I am thinking, learning, and hopefully become useful to the people who have the same thinking/mindset as me. It prevents me, again, to be trapped on another rat race.
"I typically write and edit at the same time. Writing is re-writing"
--> I thought there was something wrong with me because sometimes I like editing and doing it same time with writing. Thanks Paul for highlighting this. Many advices around writing I've heard is that you can't do editing at the same time as writing. Well, I think we all have our own style how are we going to write. As long as it works for me, I think that's all that matters. Additionally, when I was editing, it somehow opens to new ideas that lead me to interesting topics to talk about, and it is awesome experience to have.
This was such a great read. The concept of writing from conversation has always fascinated me. But what I always found interesting in the way you write is that you're not just writing *from* conversation. You're also writing *a* conversation.
Despite writing a lengthy piece, your writing makes it so easy to understand ideas. And not only that, I really feel how personal it is. I find that to be powerful, and would love to lean into that a lot more when I write. Thanks for sharing, Paul!
Thanks Paul - loved the reflection. Our circumstances & motivations are very different but there were many places you said it exactly as I might have - which made me read some sections at "3X" my normal speed :) A nice (w)rite of passage
This was a great read Paul. The most notable thing about it is the way you have used writing to serve your nature rather than modifying your nature to do perform writing. The first approach makes writing fun and the second makes it fraught with frustration. It's so refreshing to hear how writing for you is not a struggle, but a joy.
I was struck by this too. I hear all this advice about what I “should” do, but what works best for me is what I’ve been doing. It’s nice to get confirmation that there isn’t a right way, just ways that work for each person in the moment.
I'm so grateful for coming across such a great piece that I certainly know I'll revisit many many times. Thank you for this deep honest talk, for seeking true connection, making it all make sense and mostly for the number of times I mumbled " I am NOT alone" to myself while reading it.
love the bit on being a "bottom-up" thinker – it occurred to be that I've shoulded myself into being a top-down thinker when actually what I enjoy is being both a bottom-up and top-down thinker depending on what I'm working on
for reviewing your final drafts, have you ever used audio (like Readwise's read later app) to read it back to you?
I've been using the "Listen" feature to help catch typos & weird sentence structures. I can walk around and listen to the final draft come to life before shipping
Thank you, Paul. A great piece. Very insightful and something that resonates with me. Just a small observation, shouldn’t the date be Jan 13th, at the start of this article? unless I am missing something.
This is super insightful Paul, thanks for sharing your journey and process. Like you, I never fashioned myself as a "writer" in my early years, but I feel like it's an outlet that I've been neglecting and now it's all pouring out.
Also absolutely love David Perell's pod - absolute killer guests and great gems!!
Loved this piece Paul. Ive also been devouring the how i write pod and have realized the same as you - no two writers (or artists for that matter) write in the same way. one tip i stole from tim ferriss that has been super helpful is to write about what pisses you off!
I'm reading your book right now and really enjoying it!
I'm on my own pathless path that started this month after getting laid off mid Dec and not wanting to look for a job again.
It's interesting reading you say in this article that you don't often ask for feedback before publishing a post.
I've decided that I want to build the habit of publishing frequently enough for a long enough time before I consider introducing a 3rd-party review step, which would slow down the process and risks making it unenjoyable.
I've always been criticized for being a long-form writer. It seemed like the natural equivalent of being talkative. I had tried to cut my writing and ideas down to copy forms. Writing like I'm a seller. And I accidentally turned one; I sold my art of writing, but it wasn't bringing any profit.
Reading this reiterates the fact that my writing is an inherent skill, and if the ideas can't stop flowing, I shouldn't stop writing.
I find myself compelled to write long form too. It’s just how it happens so I accept it. It’s nice to meet a fellow long form writer.
And boy did I enjoy this 4500-word journey!
yeah i have found that my writing attracts deeper more curious people anyway - so its win win for me
shorter may get more clicks and shares but so what if its the wrong people?
Wow, it's even an attempt at niching down.
Resonate with this: "Conversations with others is probably the most important thing that drives most of my writing." And it works the other way too. Writing inspires conversations. So it's a positive feedback loop.
I've thought a lot about the relationship between conversation and writing. Wrote about it here: https://somethingdaily.substack.com/p/conversation-is-writing
Love the post and some of these headlines:
"The real magic of writing about ideas is that the more things you write about, the more things you want to write about."
--> It resonates me so well, I used to have fear to find topics to talk about, but as I put more hours of writing, naturally it all comes to me easier than ever. I'm not saying it's super easy, but it gets better for sure.
Mass market success bores me. I have a specific kind of reader in mind with my writing and I write for them.
--> The problem with chasing algorithm. These words remind me again why do I write in the first place because I want to share what I am thinking, learning, and hopefully become useful to the people who have the same thinking/mindset as me. It prevents me, again, to be trapped on another rat race.
"I typically write and edit at the same time. Writing is re-writing"
--> I thought there was something wrong with me because sometimes I like editing and doing it same time with writing. Thanks Paul for highlighting this. Many advices around writing I've heard is that you can't do editing at the same time as writing. Well, I think we all have our own style how are we going to write. As long as it works for me, I think that's all that matters. Additionally, when I was editing, it somehow opens to new ideas that lead me to interesting topics to talk about, and it is awesome experience to have.
Thank you so much.
This was such a great read. The concept of writing from conversation has always fascinated me. But what I always found interesting in the way you write is that you're not just writing *from* conversation. You're also writing *a* conversation.
Despite writing a lengthy piece, your writing makes it so easy to understand ideas. And not only that, I really feel how personal it is. I find that to be powerful, and would love to lean into that a lot more when I write. Thanks for sharing, Paul!
Thanks Paul - loved the reflection. Our circumstances & motivations are very different but there were many places you said it exactly as I might have - which made me read some sections at "3X" my normal speed :) A nice (w)rite of passage
This was a great read Paul. The most notable thing about it is the way you have used writing to serve your nature rather than modifying your nature to do perform writing. The first approach makes writing fun and the second makes it fraught with frustration. It's so refreshing to hear how writing for you is not a struggle, but a joy.
I was struck by this too. I hear all this advice about what I “should” do, but what works best for me is what I’ve been doing. It’s nice to get confirmation that there isn’t a right way, just ways that work for each person in the moment.
my only advantage is that i am stubborn about doing things my own way (which often takes a lot longer!) but helps me avoid following others haha
I'm so grateful for coming across such a great piece that I certainly know I'll revisit many many times. Thank you for this deep honest talk, for seeking true connection, making it all make sense and mostly for the number of times I mumbled " I am NOT alone" to myself while reading it.
Great piece, thanks for sharing your process.
love the bit on being a "bottom-up" thinker – it occurred to be that I've shoulded myself into being a top-down thinker when actually what I enjoy is being both a bottom-up and top-down thinker depending on what I'm working on
for reviewing your final drafts, have you ever used audio (like Readwise's read later app) to read it back to you?
I've been using the "Listen" feature to help catch typos & weird sentence structures. I can walk around and listen to the final draft come to life before shipping
Not really I sort of read it to myself but this is a cool idea
it's made the final editing proces a lot more seamless for me – used to feel like I had to re-read every sentence 2-3 times
“Some people separate writing and editing. I tend to write and rewrite at the same time.”
This feels like something that comes with experience. Would you agree Paul? Or have you always done it?
ive always done it this way
Fair. I do wonder what you’d be able to produce if you let the crazy artist unleash on the page and held back your analysis till later 🙃
Something I’m exploring!
Thank you, Paul. A great piece. Very insightful and something that resonates with me. Just a small observation, shouldn’t the date be Jan 13th, at the start of this article? unless I am missing something.
Yup. Ooos
This is super insightful Paul, thanks for sharing your journey and process. Like you, I never fashioned myself as a "writer" in my early years, but I feel like it's an outlet that I've been neglecting and now it's all pouring out.
Also absolutely love David Perell's pod - absolute killer guests and great gems!!
Love it. I think I’ll write about writing as well. I’ve been thinking of my ‘process’ lately too.
Loved this piece Paul. Ive also been devouring the how i write pod and have realized the same as you - no two writers (or artists for that matter) write in the same way. one tip i stole from tim ferriss that has been super helpful is to write about what pisses you off!
I'm reading your book right now and really enjoying it!
I'm on my own pathless path that started this month after getting laid off mid Dec and not wanting to look for a job again.
It's interesting reading you say in this article that you don't often ask for feedback before publishing a post.
I've decided that I want to build the habit of publishing frequently enough for a long enough time before I consider introducing a 3rd-party review step, which would slow down the process and risks making it unenjoyable.