This doesn’t have to be pretty, make sense, or go into detail yet — it just needs to be words on the page.
I’ve seen lots of people talk about the idea of “writing ugly” at a high level, but not many that spell out how to do it.
Want to know the secret to getting past the blank page when you sit down to write?
Here's how I've mastered it. THREAD!
This doesn’t have to be pretty, make sense, or go into detail yet — it just needs to be words on the page.
I’ve seen lots of people talk about the idea of “writing ugly” at a high level, but not many that spell out how to do it.
Before you try to get too in-depth, create a loose framework. It should look something like:
· Intro
· Background
· Specific Points/Ideas/Tips
· Conclusion
This allows you to visualize what you'll build upon. It’s your road map.
You’ll want to focus on the middle section of your outline first. Nail down the examples or points you want to walk through.
Include internal + external resources (and quotes!) for reference. Bullet points work well here.
Once you have the middle section complete, look at it as a whole to determine what kind of background information you need to share so the reader has relevant context.
This could be a fictional scenario, a story, a quote — something that provides a backdrop.
These two parts come last. They should be similar, but not identical. (Sisters, not twins.)
Your introduction welcomes the reader with a conversational tone, while the conclusion goes over what you explained and reminds him/her of the one main takeaway.
When your ugly first draft is complete, you can then go back in to polish things up and perfect your work — but not before then. Self-editing while you write is the enemy of completion.
As the idea rolls around in your mind, you might have new thoughts/ideas to add. Let it marinate.
Want more tips like these? Get them in your inbox: https://t.co/8mIDaah3eO
More from Writing
You May Also Like
1/ Some initial thoughts on personal moats:
Like company moats, your personal moat should be a competitive advantage that is not only durable—it should also compound over time.
Characteristics of a personal moat below:
2/ Like a company moat, you want to build career capital while you sleep.
As Andrew Chen noted:
3/ You don’t want to build a competitive advantage that is fleeting or that will get commoditized
Things that might get commoditized over time (some longer than
4/ Before the arrival of recorded music, what used to be scarce was the actual music itself — required an in-person artist.
After recorded music, the music itself became abundant and what became scarce was curation, distribution, and self space.
5/ Similarly, in careers, what used to be (more) scarce were things like ideas, money, and exclusive relationships.
In the internet economy, what has become scarce are things like specific knowledge, rare & valuable skills, and great reputations.
Like company moats, your personal moat should be a competitive advantage that is not only durable—it should also compound over time.
Characteristics of a personal moat below:
I'm increasingly interested in the idea of "personal moats" in the context of careers.
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) November 22, 2018
Moats should be:
- Hard to learn and hard to do (but perhaps easier for you)
- Skills that are rare and valuable
- Legible
- Compounding over time
- Unique to your own talents & interests https://t.co/bB3k1YcH5b
2/ Like a company moat, you want to build career capital while you sleep.
As Andrew Chen noted:
People talk about \u201cpassive income\u201d a lot but not about \u201cpassive social capital\u201d or \u201cpassive networking\u201d or \u201cpassive knowledge gaining\u201d but that\u2019s what you can architect if you have a thing and it grows over time without intensive constant effort to sustain it
— Andrew Chen (@andrewchen) November 22, 2018
3/ You don’t want to build a competitive advantage that is fleeting or that will get commoditized
Things that might get commoditized over time (some longer than
Things that look like moats but likely aren\u2019t or may fade:
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) November 22, 2018
- Proprietary networks
- Being something other than one of the best at any tournament style-game
- Many "awards"
- Twitter followers or general reach without "respect"
- Anything that depends on information asymmetry https://t.co/abjxesVIh9
4/ Before the arrival of recorded music, what used to be scarce was the actual music itself — required an in-person artist.
After recorded music, the music itself became abundant and what became scarce was curation, distribution, and self space.
5/ Similarly, in careers, what used to be (more) scarce were things like ideas, money, and exclusive relationships.
In the internet economy, what has become scarce are things like specific knowledge, rare & valuable skills, and great reputations.
