Why I Write

中文翻譯版本

Time dedicated to writing is my single most valuable investment in learning.

Having written over four hundred pieces in the past few years, I write this manifesto as a guideline for my future writing — on how to write, what to write, and why I should keep writing.

The purpose of my writing is to think better and deliver value.

Better thinking means clearer, deeper, and more interconnected thinking, leading to effective actions in my own context of use.

Value delivered means changing people's perspectives practically and positively, catalyzing meaningful interactions with others.

My writing should be authentic and opinionated.

I prioritize writing things I'm intrinsically passionate about with long-term value.

Think Better

I write to think better. Better thinking means clearer, deeper, and more interconnected thinking.

Write for clear thinking.

When we read, the author thinks for us. We can read so much and still read ourselves stupid if we just repeat the author's mental process.¹

Writing makes us realize we don't understand most things we thought we understood.²

To think clearly and internalize learning, we articulate and share the information we absorb with others.

Simple note-taking is insufficient because we can take notes without content comprehension.³

Explaining our thinking exposes our blind spots by pushing us to explore different narratives, shift perspectives, and discover connections.⁴

Concepts in our brain are stored in spatial structures, whereas writing is linear.

Through writing, we encode a network of ideas into a sequence of words using a hierarchy of phrases.⁵

This process serves as a forcing function for us to transform information into knowledge.⁶

Write for deep thinking.

Writing not only makes complex thinking easier. It makes it possible.⁷

Our limited working memory constrains complex thinking ⁸, and a writing surface offloads our cognitive workload to an external medium.

Writing augments our ability to memorize and visualize information⁹, helping us think the unthinkable.¹⁰

Writing itself is thinking. Ideas don’t come out fully formed. They only become clear as we work on them. ¹¹

To think deeper, we must write.¹²

Write for interconnected thinking.

Standalone concepts are harder to retain in our memory.¹³

Writing helps us link new ideas to those we already know, improving memory retention.¹⁴

Memory is essential for discovering new connections. A constantly evolving network of writing creates a reinforcement loop to learn and retain ideas.¹⁵

A mesh of ideas enhances creativity. Insights oftentimes flash from finding surprising connections from new things to existing thoughts we retain in our brains.

Effective actions

Better thinking driven by writing must lead to effective actions.

Insights without action are just lifeless abstractions.¹⁶

We must act on our thoughts derived from writing.¹⁷

Applying better thinking to solve problems through actions makes writing and learning truly effective.¹⁸

Effective action, in turn, improves our thinking.

Action produces measurable outcomes for our thinking.¹⁹

Measurable outcomes are essential to form effective feedback loops.²⁰

With direct feedback from actions, we can improve our thinking systematically.²¹

Action provides stronger feedback than note-taking.

Beyond note-taking, we need actions because taking notes offers weak feedback for our learning.²²

After finishing a note, we may not review it for a long time, let alone apply it.

Moreover, feedback from note-taking is ambiguous because the result of good note-taking is not obvious.

Same for thought journals. Since my first annual review²³ in 2016, I've noticed improvements in my thoughts and writing over time and used that as my benchmark for growth.²⁴

However, like note-taking, these reflections only provide delayed and indirect feedback.²⁵

Actions offer more timely and direct feedback, enabling systematic improvement in our thinking.

Effective actions should be meaningful and relevant to my context.

Effective actions towards a meaningful goal should be the outcome of better thinking.

I see myself not primarily as a writer but as a thinker and builder. Time taken in writing is time taken away from building.

Therefore, my writing must align with my own context of use²⁶ to build better things. I build to create more value.²⁷

Writing is a means to an end.

Deliver Value

Good writing delivers value. My writing should be useful and impact people's lives positively.

My writing should be useful.

Writing should consider the area under the usefulness curve.

I can write in a simple way, offering a bit of value to many people. Alternatively, I can write in-depth, offering more value to fewer people.²⁸

While both ways can maximize usefulness, I should lean toward the latter and pursue the mental equivalent of sweating.²⁹

I strive for truthfulness, yet when abstraction helps understanding, I should prioritize usefulness over truthfulness.

When opting for oversimplification, I should explicitly note the trade-off and provide references for further exploration.

My writing should have a positive impact on people's lives.

Positive impact means readers change their perspective on themselves or the world in a practically positive way.

Writing should inspire action and change what people know, believe, feel, or do.³⁰

Meaningful interactions

My writing should be the catalytic surface area of meaningful interaction with interesting people.

Writing creates opportunities to be helped.

Public writing puts me in the arena ³¹, enabling people to see my imperfect work and give me feedback. ³²

So much valuable advice, assistance, and resources I've received are only possible because I show my work.³³

The secret of life is people are way more willing to help than we think.

Writing creates opportunities to help others.

Public writing signals what areas I'm interested in and have experience in.

This ensures that people seeking help in these areas are aware of how I can help them.

It's my pleasure to share my experience and opinions as a reference or data point.

Sharing decreases information asymmetry.

Writing creates connections.

Public writing invites people to connect with me.

Most importantly, many close friendships would not have existed if I had never shared my thoughts online.

Be authentic

My writing should be authentic and reflect who I am.

Authenticity is for the long game.

Being true to myself is the easiest because I don't need to fake to impress anyone.

If I build on an extension of myself, no one can compete with me in the long term.³⁴

Focus less on competition.³⁵ Different is better than better.³⁶

Authenticity defines the value.

In the age of advanced technology, ideas outweigh skills.³⁷ However, tools like generative AI cannot represent who I am because they lack the personal essence that defines me.³⁸

“There are no unique messages, only unique messengers.”³⁹

My work must reflect who I am because authenticity with genuine expressions creates unique value.

Writing should embrace vulnerability.

Independent thinking oftentimes leads to opinions we're reluctant to share.⁴⁰

Presenting not well-established ideas puts us in a vulnerable position.

Being fully ourselves is weird and vulnerable.

So, if we feel zero vulnerability, we are not authentically ourselves.⁴¹

True authenticity involves embracing our quirks and vulnerabilities.

Be opinionated

My writing should be opinionated.

I should prioritize my opinion over summarizing others.

For second-hand information, I should add value by connecting ideas or sharing my thoughts.

I should make educated guesses with falsifiable explanations.

I must suppress the urge to dodge the responsibility of being wrong.

Owning my mistakes offers the most honest feedback for learning.

I should make public predictions to log my mistakes.

Predictions must be judged by their quality, not just by their outcome.⁴²

I aim to make quality predictions with good explanations⁴³ that are falsifiable.

I should avoid hedging to spark meaningful discussions.

Acknowledging fallibility in mind, I should state my conjecture more like the laws of physics.⁴⁴

"Be truthful, not neutral."⁴⁵

Hedged phrases like "this might be wrong, but I think" and "there can be no right answer" push arguments toward tautology and entail less practical value.

Tautological statements rarely spark meaningful discussion because there's no substance to debate.

Meaningful discussions are essential because they invite more readers to collaborate on the intellectual quest.

What to write

I prioritize things with invariant importance or incremental long-term value.

I should avoid chasing news or trends solely for broader audience reach.

I should wait for new things to unfold before commenting unless I'm genuinely intrigued and eager to explore firsthand.

I only write about things I intrinsically care about, not what's popular.

I write about anything under the sun that interests me, and that shouldn't change.

But I must be selective, focusing on things that spark not just interest but also passion.⁴⁶

Each article I publish aims to be the best on the internet at something⁴⁷, however specific.⁴⁸

How to write

Below are some learning I wrote before, and I will update this list regularly to make it evergreen.

• Write with the door closed. Once ideas are formed independently, rewrite with the door open to gather feedback. [Stephen King on Write and Rewrite]
• To write well, delete most of what you put on the page, as films often shoot 50 to 100 times more footage than what actually appears in the final cut. [Delete Most in Draft]
• If you want to use an exclamation mark while writing, it means your words aren't strong enough on their own. Strengthen your sentences instead of compensating with a mark. [Drop Exclamation Mark]
• The secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. [Sit Down to Write]
• Write 5x more but write 5x less. [Write More but Less]
• “A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes." - Ludwig Wittgenstein [Philosophical Jokes]
• Marathon runners compete with no one but a time they want to be. Writers compete with no one but a standard they want to attain. Sustainable motivation requires following something we won't compete with. [Noncompetitiveness]
• Stop every day right after we feel like we can write more. Save the excitement and carry it over to the next day to let momentum kick off tomorrow's work smoothly. [Running and Writing]
• Set aside time to write regardless of how you feel that day. It doesn't matter if it's good or not. Sit down and type. Refuse to bargain with your subconscious that says, "I'm dry. Let's try tomorrow". [Writing like Shopkeeper]
• Derek Sivers' writing advice: Try writing one sentence per line. [One Sentence per Line]
• To get over perfectionism to write and publish more, try writing without capitalization and using the 10-Point Scale. [Get over Perfectionism]
• Writing is thinking. You can write first then derive clear perspectives from your own writing. [Writing Is Thinking]
• Kill your darlings. Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. [Kill Your Darlings]
• When drafting, write FBR: Fast, Bad, Wrong. [Write FBR]
• Regarding sharing creative work, the word "release" carries a double meaning. It signifies that the work is made available to the public and that the author is liberated from the pursuit of perfection. [Double meaning of Release]
• Creators need immediate connections to what they are creating because so much creation is discovery. We discover nothing if we cannot see the process of our changes effectively. [Immediate Connection to Creation]
• “Language can become a screen which stands between the thinker and reality. This is the reason why true creativity often starts where language ends.” - Arthur Koestler [Language and Creativity]
• The But and Therefore Rule for Storytelling [The But and Therefore Rule]
• No amount of technology will make a bad story good. [Technology and Story]
• We have to learn to separate the facts from the story. [Fact and Story]
• Best ideas emerge when we balance the inhale of beer mode with the exhale of coffee mode. On any given day, coffee mode lets us be more productive. But over the long arc of time, beer mode rewards serendipity and intellectual breakthrough. [Beer and Coffee Mode]
• How to express your thoughts clearly? The 3x3 rules: make less than 3 points, explain in 3 ways, and repeat 3 times. [3x3 Rules]

Future

Some of my most fulfilling moments have been when friends and readers told me how my writing has positively influenced their lives.

Having a positive impact on others is such a meaningful honor.

Writing brings fulfillment to me. I believe my writing can also help bring fulfillment to others, whether directly or indirectly.

My mission is to enhance human fulfillment.

While building things towards enhancing human fulfillment, I will keep writing.

Read. Write. Build.

Thanks to Angelica Kosasih, Scott Chen and Simon Tsai for reading the draft of this and giving feedback.