Writing

17 notes, 2 favorites. Often alongside thinking, people and networking.

Surprise me in writing

Start here · 8 min

the world doesn’t move because you tell it to(favorite)signull · 3 min
signull argues people never change because they are told to, only when a story or vision shifts what they see, as in falling in love, lasting friendships, and leaders like Jobs.
How to Capture Attention(favorite)Slava Akhmechet · 2 min
How writing the Hacker News headline first, then building the release to match it, kept RethinkDB on top of HN and taught Akhmechet to write headlines that land.
How To Craft A Subject Line for Cold Emailing part 1Owen Garcia · 3 min
Generic subject lines like "Coffee Chat Request" get ignored; personalize the subject so a busy executive has a reason to open your cold email.

All 17 notes

Good WritersPaco Coursey Oct 7 1 min
Coursey argues good writers use the same words far better than the rest of us, comparing Aaron Swartz's gripping first line about Carol Dweck with the dull school-style opening he'd have written.
Related
- You Are NOT Dumb, You Just Lack the PrerequisitesLelouch
- How I ReadRob Henderson
- mathAlisa Wuffles
- Paying AttentionMorgan Housel
Read the original of Good Writers (opens in a new tab)
Writing for EngineersHeinrich Hartmann Oct 7 11 min
Hartmann argues that writing is the skill that most expands a senior engineer's impact, and that good writing starts with having a clear message for a specific audience.
Related
- What to care about in a jobBen Kuhn
- Useful and Overlooked SkillsMorgan Housel
- Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More ValuedPatrick McKenzie
- the world doesn’t move because you tell it tosignull
Read the original of Writing for Engineers (opens in a new tab)
How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson Sep 26 13 min
Karlsson argues that most writing doesn't help you think, and that it becomes a real tool for thought only when you use it to find and test the flaws in your ideas.
Related
- The Written WordMorgan Housel
- Semantic gapsSebastian Bensusan
- SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky
- Taboo Your WordsEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of How to think in writing (opens in a new tab)
A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inboxHenrik Karlsson Sep 25 14 min
Karlsson argues you should write niche, detailed posts for the person you were six months ago rather than a general audience, since precise writing works like a search query that finds your people online.
Related
- How To Craft A Subject Line for Cold Emailing part 1Owen Garcia
- How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson
- Sometimes the reason you can’t find people you resonate with is because you misread the ones you meetHenrik Karlsson
- Everything that turned out well in my life followed the same design processHenrik Karlsson
Read the original of A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox (opens in a new tab)
An Art Leveraging A ScienceMorgan Housel Sep 24 5 min
Housel argues outlier success often pairs a science with an unrelated art, like Einstein's thought experiments, and that great investors are usually great writers because clear communication keeps investors loyal and thinking honest.
Related
- The Seduction of PessimismMorgan Housel
- A Number From Today and A Story About TomorrowMorgan Housel
- Conflicting Skill SetsMorgan Housel
- How To Read Financial NewsMorgan Housel
Read the original of An Art Leveraging A Science (opens in a new tab)
The Written WordMorgan Housel Sep 24 2 min
Housel's rules for writing well: write what you like to read, use stories as leverage for ideas, aim for memorable sentences, and say the most in the fewest words without building up to your point.
Related
- An Art Leveraging A ScienceMorgan Housel
- How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson
- I Have A Few QuestionsMorgan Housel
- Semantic gapsSebastian Bensusan
Read the original of The Written Word (opens in a new tab)
the world doesn’t move because you tell it to(favorite)signull Sep 14 3 min
signull argues people never change because they are told to, only when a story or vision shifts what they see, as in falling in love, lasting friendships, and leaders like Jobs.
Related
- How To Send Progress UpdatesSlava Akhmechet
- the physics of attentionsignull
- Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands YouEliezer Yudkowsky
- You can't tell people anythingChip Morningstar
Read the original of the world doesn’t move because you tell it to (opens in a new tab)
How to Capture Attention(favorite)Slava Akhmechet Sep 10 2 min
How writing the Hacker News headline first, then building the release to match it, kept RethinkDB on top of HN and taught Akhmechet to write headlines that land.
Related
- How To Send Progress UpdatesSlava Akhmechet
- Notes on Incident ResponseSlava Akhmechet
- On Working with Product ManagersSlava Akhmechet
- How to Work W DesignersSlava Akhmechet
Read the original of How to Capture Attention (opens in a new tab)
How To Send Progress UpdatesSlava Akhmechet Sep 10 2 min
Tips for updates to investors, bosses, and other teams: show you take their trust seriously, vary the cadence a little, and build a record of good stewardship.
Related
- the world doesn’t move because you tell it tosignull
- How to Capture AttentionSlava Akhmechet
- Leader v Follower ModeSlava Akhmechet
- On Working with Product ManagersSlava Akhmechet
Read the original of How To Send Progress Updates (opens in a new tab)
How To Craft A Subject Line for Cold Emailing part 1Owen Garcia Aug 25 3 min
Generic subject lines like "Coffee Chat Request" get ignored; personalize the subject so a busy executive has a reason to open your cold email.
Related
- A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inboxHenrik Karlsson
- It Is Your Responsibility to Follow UpAlexey Guzey
- the world doesn’t move because you tell it tosignull
- How to Capture AttentionSlava Akhmechet
Read the original of How To Craft A Subject Line for Cold Emailing part 1 (opens in a new tab)
Semantic gapsSebastian Bensusan Aug 19 1 min
When one language draws a distinction another lacks, like Swedish's four words for grandparents, listeners get stuck on details that don't matter to the story.
Related
- How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson
- The Written WordMorgan Housel
- SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky
- Taboo Your WordsEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of Semantic gaps (opens in a new tab)
SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky Aug 12 15 min
Starting from a vague founder pitch at YC office hours, a call for exercises that train people to replace abstract claims with concrete, specific examples.
Related
- Taboo Your WordsEliezer Yudkowsky
- Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands YouEliezer Yudkowsky
- Fake ExplanationsEliezer Yudkowsky
- Think Like RealityEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of SotW: Be Specific (opens in a new tab)
Taboo Your WordsEliezer Yudkowsky Aug 12 4 min
Yudkowsky argues that banning a disputed word and describing what you actually expect to observe dissolves fake disagreements, like the tree falling in an empty forest, and exposes real ones hiding behind shared labels.
Related
- SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky
- Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands YouEliezer Yudkowsky
- Fake ExplanationsEliezer Yudkowsky
- Think Like RealityEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of Taboo Your Words (opens in a new tab)
Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands YouEliezer Yudkowsky Aug 8 3 min
Yudkowsky uses Boaz Keysar's experiments to show that we know what we mean and assume others do too, so speakers overestimate how well they're understood, as Chamberlain did in his letter to Hitler.
Related
- SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky
- Taboo Your WordsEliezer Yudkowsky
- You can't tell people anythingChip Morningstar
- Fake ExplanationsEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands You (opens in a new tab)
On Saying the ObviousGrognor Aug 8 2 min
What's obvious to you often isn't to others, so it's worth saying "obvious" things out loud and dropping the word "obviously" from your arguments.
Related
- How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson
- The Written WordMorgan Housel
- Semantic gapsSebastian Bensusan
- SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of On Saying the Obvious (opens in a new tab)
Betteridge's law of headlinesWikipedia Aug 3 7 min
The adage that any headline ending in a question mark can be answered "no," because a publisher confident in the answer would have stated it outright.
Related
- How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson
- The Written WordMorgan Housel
- Semantic gapsSebastian Bensusan
- SotW: Be SpecificEliezer Yudkowsky
Read the original of Betteridge's law of headlines (opens in a new tab)
You can't tell people anythingChip Morningstar Jul 13 5 min
Explaining a new idea in words rarely works; people only understand once they experience it, which changes how you should pitch, demo, and teach.
Related
- Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands YouEliezer Yudkowsky
- the world doesn’t move because you tell it tosignull
- How to think in writingHenrik Karlsson
- Psychological Paths of Least ResistanceMorgan Housel
Read the original of You can't tell people anything (opens in a new tab)

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