# Writing Philosophy This is meant to capture what I am trying to achieve with my writing philosophy. My goal is really to merge the following: * Nassim Taleb's Essay format * Melting Asphalt is good as well * Cal Newport Explainer * [Writing About Ideas](Writing%20About%20Ideas.md) - tell a cohesive narrative. * douglass murray, square and the tower (humor) * Wit, dry humor, confident, assertive * Murray often distills complex ideas into sharp, memorable phrases. Practice summarizing complex topics in punchy sentences without losing their essence. * Dan Dennett - language * [The Pyramid Principle](The%20Pyramid%20Principle.md) * [Cohesive Narrative](Cohesive%20Narrative.md) * [Non-Fiction Writing](Non-Fiction%20Writing.md) * [Cal Newport Writing Tips](Cal%20Newport%20Writing%20Tips.md) * [Steven Pinker Writing Tips](Steven%20Pinker%20Writing%20Tips.md) * Do not feel that you need to write a 100% water tight argument. Rather, describe your thought process clearly * [How To Write Quickly While Maintaining Epistemic Rigor — LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Psr9tnQFuEXiuqGcR/how-to-write-quickly-while-maintaining-epistemic-rigor?utm_source=pocket_shared) * [Epistemic Legibility — LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jbE85wCkRr9z7tqmD/epistemic-legibility) * [You Do Not Need To Be More Specific Than The Situation Demands](You%20Do%20Not%20Need%20To%20Be%20More%20Specific%20Than%20The%20Situation%20Demands.md) * [George Orwell Writing Advice](George%20Orwell%20Writing%20Advice.md) What do I want to avoid? * Language like that used on FS blog * Wait but why (I like reading it, but it's not really my style) ### Big themes * Cohesion * Wittyness, humor * Steelman opponents * Entertaining to read, a bit of musing * Intention and obstacle are keys to story telling ### Miscellaneous concepts * Allow for an "interlude" in the middle of your essay * Keep track of language that you like. * ### Writing Approaches * [The Pyramid Principle](The%20Pyramid%20Principle.md) * [Writing About Ideas](Writing%20About%20Ideas.md) * Think about what words are doing a lot of work * Remove words like “very” and other superlatives, if you have explained things well enough with a bunch of simple descriptive phrases, you don’t need the very * What is the most misunderstood thing? Where do you look at the world and say “people think this. That is wrong. Let me show you why by arguing for something else” * Write to avoid sloppy thinking * Clarity, humor, interesting topics, and challenging your reader. * [Writing is the Excavation of your Obsessions](Writing%20is%20the%20Excavation%20of%20your%20Obsessions.md) * [Favorite Words for Writing](Favorite%20Words%20for%20Writing.md) * Story telling is about emotion (Sean carrol [https://overcast.fm/+tWC5-1eA0/09:11](https://overcast.fm/+tWC5-1eA0/09:11)) [Writing Inspiration](Writing%20Inspiration.md) --- Date: 20230520 Links to: Tags: References: * []()