Lately, I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about, well, writing. As the world continues to shift more and more toward being dominated by video, it seems to me that writers and readers will start to have a unique advantage. The advantage may not be so much in breadth as in depth. Video has the capability of reaching large audiences better than writing does, but writing enables a quality of thinking (on the part of the writer) and comprehension (on the part of the reader) that requires you to slow down and engage with the information in a way that is more difficult with video.
You can’t have an article or a book playing in the background while you do something else. Writing requires both the writer and the reader to engage with every sentence. While that may not scale the way video does, it uniquely rewards readers and writers who plumb the depths of a thought instead of skimming along the surface.
That’s why I’m currently thinking a lot about how to become a better writer and wanting to help pass on the things that I’m learning. We need more good writers. Writers who explore different topics from every angle, who connect dots for us that we never would’ve connected ourselves. That doesn’t mean every piece has to be a magnum opus. But it does mean that taking the time to release the thoughts that have been percolating in your head into the world through writing is a worthwhile endeavor.
With that said, it might be ironic that I’m about to recommend a video to you. But it’s a video by writers and for writers. Just like Patrick wrote a while back, there is social media-inflected content and there is textually-inflected content. This is textually-inflected content.
One of my favorite resources I’ve found lately has been David Perell, who runs a show called How I Write. Everything he puts out is incredible. But recently, he put out a 45-minute deep dive into Jerry Seinfeld’s writing process, and it is a masterclass in writing. I found it equal parts validating, challenging, and inspiring. If you’re wanting to hone your writing craft, this is a must-watch video. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.
