42 Lessons on Writing Better (Thread)

Inspired by the Zoom Webinar conversation between @dollarsanddata and @david_perell
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Notes below

Writing is Like Building An Ant Nest

• There are many ways to build a nest
• There is no "right" way
• Focus on finding your process and don't be afraid to experiment

Nick's writing process

• Consume -> Think -> Write
• Nick spends 80% of his writing process consuming information
• The most important part of Nick's writing process is figuring out how to reduce friction

What Information Does Nick Consume?

• Books are typically the highest quality source of information
• The originality of an idea is directly related to the obscurity of the sources it comes from.
• Books are the most underpriced assets

Reducing Friction

• Friction is defined as the reader noticing the writing instead of the message it's meant to convey
• Low Friction = Logical Flow
• Logical flow should go unnoticed

Traditional Writing Advice is Bad

• The writing lessons you learned in school isn't how to succeed as a writer in the real world.
• Your objective is to entertain and inform.
• Grammar, style, and structure aren't as important

Connecting Ideas With Stories

• Nick collects stories and then tries to connect it to an idea
• Nick discovers ideas and then tries to find a story to support it
• Tell stories with logical flows

David's Writing Style

• Writing is like a lighthouse for like-minded people
• Create a personal monopoly
• Put in the reps

What is a Lighthouse?

• Writing shines a light on what you are interested in
• It helps bring together people that have common interests in your writing
• It takes time to build a lighthouse

What is a Personal Monopoly?

• Own a niche. For example, David is the "writing guy"
• Nick is the finance data guy
• You don't develop a personal monopoly overnight. Practice will help you find your voice.

Repetition

• No one paid attention to Nick's writing until his 16th blog post
• You can't take shortcuts.
• The only way to become a better writer is through writing more

Power of Twitter

• Twitter is one of the biggest sources of traffic for his blog
• Nick's current employer found him through Twitter
• Twitter has helped him build a powerful network

The Nightclub Analogy

• Life, business, and success is just like a nightclub.
• Door one is people waiting on line
• Door two is people who know the owner

The Nightclub Analogy (Part 2)

• Door three is people who write
• It's a special door that only writers know about
• Writing online helps open up doors you didn't even know were there

Building a Distribution Channel

• Nick uses email and Twitter to distribute his blog posts
• Don't rely on "rented" land to distribute content
• It's important to build an email list because you own the data