Tim White

Writer and Editor. Always on a quest for parrhesia.

[David Perell @david_perell]

A well-written article can change your life because the world rewards people who think well.

But what makes for good writing?

I asked that question to some of my favorite writers, and here are the best lessons I picked up:

1) ​Kevin Kelly: Don't aim to be the best. Be the only.​
​
​Millions of words are published every day, and if you're going to stand out, you have to be distinct. Maybe it's your voice; maybe it's your topic selection; maybe it's the way you tell a story or observe the world. Whatever it is, different is sometimes better than better. ​
​
​2) @culturaltutor: If it was published in the past 50 years, don't read it.​
​
​​The problem with new books isn't that they're bad. The problem is that everybody else is reading them, which doesn't give you an edge. Reading what everybody else is reading is a fast-track to thinking what everybody else is thinking and writing what everybody else is writing. Reading old books is a simple way to make your thinking more distinct.
​
3) @pmarca: Use a barbell approach to consume information.​
​
​Yes, this lesson directly contradicts the previous one. Marc likes to either read about things that are happening right now (in Tweets, newsletters, or group chats) or read things that were written more than 10 years ago and will stand the test of time. ​
​
​4) @rivatez: Your writing doesn't need to be logical. It can be a word painting.​
​
​Writing isn't just about stitching an argument. It's also about eliciting a mood. The way we learn to write in school has the logical aspects of writing overpowering its poetry and soul. But passion makes poets out of us all. You don't need a thesaurus if you write with enough heart. When you care about what you're saying, the language comes out fresh. In that way, writing can be like an impressionist painting. By distorting reality, it can capture the emotional essence of a situation.
​
​5) @tferriss: Focus on quality, not volume. ​
​
​AI is going to win the volume game. The competitive advantage for people like us lies writing exceptionally well about the things you have unique knowledge about (especially if you're a seasoned writer). For Tim, that means doubling down on self-experimentation and uncovering information that hasn't been shared before in the process. What does it mean for you? ​
​
​6) @noampomsky: Good writing requires reaching beyond consensus.​
​
​That means thinking fresh and novel thoughts. Writing is a process of excavation. The first ideas that come to you will rarely be the best ones. As a writer, it's your job to keep digging until you find things that surprise you. Focusing on the same topic for a long time is arduous because it goes against the mind's natural impulse to skip between topics. By keeping your focus constant, writing lets you explore ideas with levels of logic and rigor that the thinking mind can't achieve on its own. So if your thinking on a topic feels superficial, write more about it.​
​
​7) Howard Marks: Find your creed.​
​
​Most of what you'll read on the Internet is hum-drum about whatever's happening now or whatever fleeting emotion the writer happens to be feeling that day. Howard aims for the opposite. Read voraciously, do hard things, reflect on your point of view, and say something of substance. If you don't know what to write about, here's a prompt: Reconcile the difference between how people think something works and how it actually does. As Yogi Berra once said, "In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ​​
​
8) Amor Towles: You have a duty to fulfill your side of the covenant with your readers.​
​
​​When a reader buys your book or opens a newsletter like this one, they've committed to spending their valuable time on your work. As a writer, you owe it to your readers to ensure that you've edited your drafts, cut out the redundancies, and said something worthwhile. Take out whatever is cliche, trite, trivial, boring, and irrelevant. Edit and edit until only the gold remains.
​​​
​9) @thesamparr: To find your voice as a writer, do copywork. ​
​
​Pick up the book of an author you admire and copy their sentences by hand. Doing so gives you a sense for their flow, voice, and rhythm. This is what Hunter S. Thompson was doing when he rewrote every word of The Great Gatsby so he could feel what it was like to write a great novel.
​
10) ​Steven Pressfield: The female carries the mystery
​
​​In Moby Dick, the sea is the female, and the sea carries the mystery. In Lawrence of Arabia, the desert is the female, and the movie is shot to make the desert absolutely gorgeous. While writing a story, Steven asks himself: What's the female in this story? Is there a mystery? And why? What is the mystery? And the mystery is usually something that can't be solved.

If you'd rather watch the full episode on YouTube or listen to it on Apple or Spotify, check out the reply tweets below.

[Steven Pinker @sapinker]

How to Argue Against Identity Politics (successor ideology, political correctness, social justice warfare, critical theory) Without Turning Into a Reactionary Crank. "It is time to fight, without shame or hesitation, for a future in which what we have in common truly comes to be more important than what divides us." XLNT piece by @Yascha_Mounk https://t.co/BUR07gDgJ4

[Utah Football @Utah_Football]

Welcome to Utah.

📺 @espn https://t.co/raAzYdPdhI

#GoUtes

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

Excellent investigative piece from @chashomans:

[Charles Homans @chashomans]

Two years ago, the Loudoun County VA school district was accused of covering up a sexual assault by a gender-fluid student—a scandal that rocked the state’s governor’s race and the politics of gender nationwide. But was it true? My story for @nytmag: https://t.co/kvVEf4XKGX

[Angel Eduardo @StrangelEdweird]

Fascinating how none of us ever seem to belong to the group, tribe, or political party that has all the bad ideas, does all the bad things, and consists of all the bad people.

That's a hell of a lucky break.

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

"...shouldn’t political interventions seek to restore freedom of expression and intellectual diversity, not impose a different orthodoxy?"

Great piece by @CathyYoung63
https://t.co/cNRhqeISdy via @BulwarkOnline

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

You can’t refute data with opinions. The best way to challenge evidence is with better evidence.

Confirmation bias is dismissing inconvenient facts. Critical thinking is questioning your beliefs.

The goal of learning is to pursue what's true, not defend your views.

[Fifty Shades of Whey @davenewworld_2]

Now this is how you do a Christmas ad

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@SarahTheHaider Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Unique take on dragon fantasy. https://t.co/LmgsMAa9Kw

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@APompliano I don't know if this one is the best, but it was the first one that came to mind.

Dear Zachary. https://t.co/F2EbSpJWOx

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@cvaldary @jamesmccrae77 On a similar note, Stasi Eldredge wrote a similar book from the feminine perspective called "Captivating."

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@cvaldary @jamesmccrae77 Reminds me of a book I read a while ago: "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. Written from a Christian perspective. One excerpt from it that comes to mind:

"Do not ask what the world needs. Ask what awakens your heart. Because the world needs men who have awoken their heart."

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@shadihamid Combining those two together, critics probably inferred from your statement that you're an elite leftist who thinks Trump supporters are bad people.

Even though what you said ("who we think are bad people") was the correct framing, it came across as condescending to some.

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@shadihamid You make a great point about learning to tolerate and respect others with whom we disagree. Wholeheartedly agree.

You're getting push back from the right however because 1) you include yourself with the elite left ("we"); and 2) frame Trump supporters as "bad people."

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@tracewoodgrains Really enjoyed this article. Glad you came across my feed. 👍

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

@TurkeyVulture15 @SarahTheHaider That's a fair take. Appreciate it.

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

I still don't agree with their position. But I learned something (again) today.

We can disagree with others without being disagreeable.

10/10 writing exercise. Highly recommend.

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

I wrote a piece today for a client. I don't personally agree with their position, and I struggled with it for a bit.

But it gave me the opportunity to:

1/

[Tim White @tommerbobtim]

1) Steelman their argument, placing my own biases to the side.

I saw why they believe what they do, not from my perspective, but from theirs.

2) Recognize that they are not their argument. They're human like me, with their own unique background and thought process.

2/