"The Writing Guy" | I tweet about writing, learning and business | My Podcast: Perell.com/podcast | My writing school: writeofpassage.school

Austin, Texas
Joined January 2011
Business writing 101. ∙ Shorten your sentences. ∙ Make your point fast. ∙ Shorten the introduction. ∙ Use simple words. ∙ Add graphs and statistics. ∙ No buzzwords. ∙ Use more periods, fewer commas. ∙ Write for skimming, not deep reading. ∙ Bold the main takeaways.
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The Jerry Seinfeld guide to writing: Create first, edit second. Never do them at the same time. Here's my mini-essay.
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Seinfeld divides writing and editing into two separate activities. It's like he's switching between two modes of being. The creation phase is a delirious dance of action and exuberance, while the editing phase is slow… calm… and peaceful. perell.com/note/the-jerry-se…
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Albert Einstein, on writing. Two things stand out: 1) Focus on clarity: Make your ideas as understandable as possible, and don't worry about beauty. 2) Repeat yourself if you need to: Difficult concepts need to be repeated, but your ideas should always feel fresh to the reader
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Einstein was talking about scientific writing, but it's a good counterweight to the verbose literary style most people learn in school. In my own writing, I prize beauty. But I never focus on beauty until my essays are clear. Adding flair is the last thing I do before I publish.
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Richard Hamming, one of the top scientists of the 20th century, said that good ideas aren't enough. Everybody's busy, so writers must present their ideas well too. He said: "You have to sell it... If they don't stop and read it, you won't get credit." (h/t @MarcRuby)
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If you're serious about adding style to your writing, diversify your vernacular. In your first draft, write like you talk. But in the following drafts, add color to your writing by using words that people know, but don't say. Here's my mini-essay.
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Good writers don't magically wake up with gorgeous prose in their head so whenever you see a beautiful sentence, know that it's the result of a painstaking editing process
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Reading good books and writing in public will improve your writing more than sitting in a classroom ever will
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