Akramz•
How to Write?
I believe good writing follows principles that I can look for and document. So, I wanted to share my current “How to?” for writing. Here are my thoughts:
Start with an idea that you genuinely care about. For example, you can expand on an opinion you had while discussing with a friend, or a statement you read in a book, or a concept you frequently think about. You can share your understanding of a problem or how you came up with a solution. In summary, your writing should be about your experience. Be authentic.
Once you find an idea, you need to pin it down to a single statement or sentence. For this blog post, the statement is “I believe good writing follows a set of principles that I can look for and document”. Your first statement does not have to be correct. You can iterate on it. But it is useful to start with a statement that keeps you focused. You want to explore it by thinking, writing, researching. Rinse and repeat.
Then, you need to break down that statement into bullet points. The bullet points follow a natural order, they add detail to the original idea and support it. Once you have the bullet points, expand each into a standalone paragraph. Your writing style should be similar to how you speak in real life. At this point, you already have a short essay!
And now you need to review and improve your draft. Read your article and write down any questions, critiques, and other ideas that come to mind. You can put them in a separate section. Create new draft docs for unrelated ideas. Take time to research your questions and criticisms then improve existing paragraphs and create new ones based on your findings.
Also make sure the text is simple, easy to understand, and fun. Again, you’d want to write as you speak. Simplify the text by removing extra words. Don’t put multiple ideas in one sentence. Write for the lazy reader. Write for yourself.
Keep iterating between research and writing until you love what you wrote. Don’t write on stimulants because that’s a shortcut. Don’t oversell or over-optimize because readers want to relate. Don’t think about impact because no one can predict it. Don’t think about novelty because a re-write of the same idea can be novel and a new idea can be useless. Ask for reviews from humans & AIs.
Don’t think much about whether to publish or not. Don’t have high expectations. Write lots of short essays and explore through writing. Write lots to practice clear and sharp thinking. Write lots to learn more about unfamiliar topics. And don’t be scared of sounding stupid. Just write!