Some tips to write good

I can finally finish most paragraphs without making basic grammatical errors and can endure a blank page with a blinking cursor on it for more than seven seconds. Writing takes time and patience. What follows are tips that I would tell me back then in order to not be stuck.

Read

I know that back then was very hung up on believing that I didn’t have a worthwhile opinion let alone an ability to write it down. Also, I was highly unsure about what to write.

So the first advice is to read. Read to learn and develop an interest. Read to find out what others have already said. Read for pleasure.

I once heard someone say (who had heard it from someone else) that they like to read fiction because there isn’t enough time in life to meet everyone. A good story will transport you to places you wouldn’t have been able to even dream of before, let alone visit. Empathy and imagination can have you seeing through the eyes of a historical figure or aliens from out of space.

Another great way to learn is to find some good forums online. This is less of a commitment than a book, and it allows you to engage too if you want. Start with Reddit. The trick with this kind of reading is to be aware of the context and develop keen scepticism. You cannot be sure of the credibility of this one random person's assertion about the risks of eating cheese on toast.

While stumbling on the right forum and reading it for just one short while can give you lots of good stuff, you must go further to develop a stronger understanding. We all learn from one another, but you don't want to parrot what you read from one place and time. That shit is both annoying and insincere if presented as expertise.

By reading elsewhere, you will eventually pick up on patterns and will be more able to sift through the information quicker.

Where are the people who know and care about your chosen subject? What do they care about or disagree on? A high-level skill is being able to find the real limits of knowledge about something and where there is a lack of consensus. If you hang around in one Facebook group only, you run the risk of getting stuck in an echo chamber, only encountering opinions and information that reinforces one point of view.

I would tell myself that my attention span, already not being flattered with a good one, is going to get worse with the encroachment of the internet into my personal space. And so I would encourage myself to read Deep Work, at the soonest possible opportunity after it gets published.

Also, you need to read some of this big long book called Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, by Robert Sapolsky when it comes out in 2017. It's a game-changer for you, my man.

Make time and space

To become good at pretty much anything, you must do it over and over. Even with rare preternatural talent, no one comes pre-installed with muscle memory and tacit knowledge. These are only got by putting the reps in.

I heartedly recommend finding a simple way to schedule blocks of time for practice. A digital calendar works great. As well as setting up reminders, it also helps develop time management. I see this as negotiating with my future self. Humans are bad at affective forecasting; knowing how you’ll feel about something in the future and how that impacts willingness to do it and performance.

But this simple practice allows you to get to know your behaviour and moods better. Think of scheduling as the first part of the work.

“That’s a problem for future Homer! Man, I don’t envy that guy!” — Homer Simpson.

Once you’re getting down to it, the quality of your practice is also going to make a difference. Set up a tidy workspace and eliminate distractions. No Social Media or email tabs if using a browser. Aeroplane mode is your friend. There are so many apps that lay claim to the holy grail of productivity and efficiency. You don’t need any of them or their premium subscriptions. All you need is a calendar and a to-do list/reminders. Google Calendar does this perfectly, and it's free.

When it comes to time management, endeavour to do the hardest most important work first thing in the morning. The days are inevitability going to get away from you, this I promise. So work on your writing in the morning before starting the rest of the day, before that highly inconvenient soul-sucking office job if possible.

Care about the idea

Words can obfuscate as well as illuminate. So, prioritise understanding, not the word count. Inner life can be messy and obscure. It’s usually not the case that we have just the exact right phrase at the tip of our tongue. And most of us know from our own experience the feeling of pressure to do something rather than nothing. Or the impulse to say something to fill an awkward silence. But being reactive does not lend itself to understanding. Silence is a quiet act of strength. Silence allows for real understanding, which is what you want foremost.

Then, a powerful writing tip is to remind yourself of what your main point or idea is. Are you making it as easy as possible for others to see? I’m sure you’ll agree it can be highly irritating listening to someone who uses lots of jargon. When someone does that it suggest the person doesn’t care about what they’re saying or whether their audience understands.

Ship it at 80%

This isn’t a writing tip specifically, but I like it, so it gets the last spot.

You’re going to spend a good deal of time twiddling around with minutiae and making things’ just right’. You’ll do this in life generally, but certainly no less with your own creative projects.

At 80% you’ve built something discernable and with legs.

At a certain point, extra effort will show diminishing returns. Is it now better to send it on its way and see what happens? Doing so will also give you the freedom to move on to something else.

This is not true for academic papers or Magnum Opuses. But, with everything else, don’t be a perfectionist.

The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection — George Orwell.