Top threads to make you a better Writer (will help you develop a flair for writing.)

The biggest writing lesson you can learn: You – the writer – are completely and absolutely irrelevant. The reader does not care: • What you think • Why you wrote it • How long it took you They care about 1 thing:  

What your writing does for them. 

Now, let's go deep into the rabbit hole

The key to great writing? Editing. Here are 7 tips to improve your writing forever:

Language is a free way to be strategic. The right words can make you warmer, more authoritative, and more effective. The wrong words can make you seem negative, passive, or confrontational. These are 7 words to start deleting today:

1. Fine Saying fine sounds like you’re not fine. When writing, you only have cold hard text--you can’t use facial expressions to show warmth. You need to amp up the positivity to compensate. “I’m fine with that.” “Great, I’m on board.”

2. However ‘However’ is a melodramatic way to say ‘but.’ It’s too formal and bureaucratic. “It should take an hour each day. However, you can do your work on your own schedule.” “It should take an hour each day. You can do most of your work on your own schedule.”

3. Unfortunately Don’t make bad news seem heavier than it needs to be. “Unfortunately we only offer the event on X dates, but recordings are sent the next day.” “Absolutely. Events are only scheduled on X dates & recordings are sent the next day.”

4. Double negatives When you say “not,” your reader has to think of what is--then think of the opposite. Make it easier for people to understand you: state things in the affirmative as your default. “I could not be more proud to...” “I am incredibly proud to...”

5. Can’t until Don’t state what you can’t do. State what you CAN do. “I can’t meet until 2pm.” “I can meet at 2pm and anytime after.”

6. Honestly Let’s assume your default is to tell the truth. “To be honest, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

7. Very, truly, and really These can sound generic. You’ll come across just as sincere (if not more so) without them. “I really appreciate you and am truly glad to be part of the team.” “I appreciate you and am honored to be part of the team.”

“Writing is more like a sculpture where you remove, you eliminate in order to make the work visible.” - Elie Wiesel Keep an eye out for these words--they’ll subconsciously creep into your writing. Luckily they’re easy to delete & will make your writing stronger right away. - Wes Kao

If I had to start from $0 again, here's what I'd do:

Step 1: Pick a social platform I pick Twitter. Say I want to be a freelance content writer. I search "marketing" on Twitter and look for high-performing content. I start curating high-performing content, building out my profile. Showing off my skills.

Step 2: Offer my skills for free After curating some world-class work, I introduce myself to top creators. Tag them or DM. Anyone who responds, I offer my services for free. "Let me prove what I can do." Someone will say yes.

Step 3: Prove I'm a good writer, then charge $$$ The first project is a test. • Test for me, to see if I can achieve the goal • Test for them, to see if they're someone worth working with/for If I'm successful, they'll want more ($). If I'm not, no harm no foul.

Step 4: Keep curating, keep writing As I'm getting my feet wet working for free, I keep writing... I keep curating... I keep building in public, showing the people in my category on Twitter I am actively participating. I'm playing the game.

Step 5: Leverage 1st client to a 2nd client When the first free project is a success, client will want more. Now, I charge (a modest amount). But I also ask for an introduction: "I'm passionate about writing. Anyone else you know who might need a content writer?"

Step 6: Scale, scale, scale My Twitter is growing... My 1 client is making an intro to a 2nd client... My curating other people's content is leading to more outreach... Now, I have 3 different streams bringing me opportunities. Each new client I take on, I raise my prices.

Step 7: Trim the client roster and increase profitability Once I reach my ceiling in terms of hours I can work, I look to replace my lower-paying clients. I tell them, next month, I'll need to up the cost. The right ones will stay. The wrong ones will leave.

Step 8: Reinvest $$$ into productizing myself Once my client roster is full and 80%+ are paying full rate, and I've raised my prices as high as they can go, the only way to scale beyond is through products. I start turning my knowledge into: • Books • Courses • Software

Step 9: As product revenue increases, I shed clients I look at the revenue of each client, and when a product starts making me the equivalent ($$), I let the client go. Time invested in client work scales linearly. Time invested in products scales exponentially.

Step 10: The goal is to flip client revenue with product revenue Eventually, I get to a point where what I'm earning from products has 90% replaced what I'm earning from clients. Now, I can be even pickier. Client work becomes "gravy on top." - Nicolas Cole

How can some people write so beautifully? I think I've figured it out. - Julian Shapiro THREAD: The four elements of writing style:

Pardon me while I open a wormhole into your brain and thrust style advice into it. See, that’s an example of style. I could have just said: "And now let’s learn about style."

Four elements of style I'll cover: • Your voice • Your presentation • Engaging the senses • Engaging the imagination

Part 1: Your voice Ask your friends what it's like to talk with you. Perhaps they’ll mention your: • Tone of voice • Sense of humor • Eccentricities • Viewpoints

Convey those traits in your writing, and readers will recognize your voice. In other words, voice is not your choice of words. Voice is your unfiltered self.

In early drafts, discard your reflex to self-censor. Talk vulnerably like you do with friends. In later drafts, you can remove sensitive details. Until that point, treat it like a confession.

*In*authentic voice happens when you read a lot of someone else’s work and absorb their style. It also happens when you try to "write smart"—using words like "plethora" or “myriad.” If you don’t use those in conversation, don't use them in your writing. It's out-of-touch.

Part 2: Poetry Style also engages the imagination. I personally define poetry as finding evocative, unconventional ways to say meaningful things.

For example, instead of saying "the day was hot," you could write “even the bugs were looking for air conditioning.” In that example, we're describing the effect caused by the hot day—as opposed to directly describing the heat itself.

In other words, poetry is one step removed from a straightforward description of the events. The more steps you can be removed while still successfully communicating the meaning, the more "elegant" your poetry feels.

Here's a full example. A. A first-order statement is a plain description of the scenario: "The day was hot." This is how we commonly talk.

B. In a second-order description, you describe something by stating the effect it has on its environment. "The day melted our popsicles." The reader can imply that the day was therefore hot.

C. In a third-order description, you describe something by stating its effect but not mentioning the cause by name. "Our popsicles melted." There's ambiguity as to why our popsicles melted. But with a bit of *imagination,* the reader pieces it together.

Now we're engaging their minds.

However, our sentence isn't very poetic yet. To get there, we can describe an effect that is unconventional, counterintuitive, or witty: "Even the bugs were looking for air conditioning."

"Instead of telling us a thing was 'terrible,' describe it so that we’ll BE terrified." —C.S. Lewis In short, I personally define poetry as unconventional third-order descriptions.

Part 3: Engage readers' senses One way to engage readers' senses is to be vivid. To explain vividness, here are writer Venkatesh Rao's remarks on the vividness of author David Foster Wallace:

"His writing is looking at a pinprick-sharp photo—compared to my blurry ones. He picks words that work 100x better than mine. He has a 15 megapixel camera and a tripod, while I have a 3 megapixel point-and-shoot. A bigger vocab isn't enough. His skill: matching words to needs."

Here's an example of vividness:

Vividness isn't just detail. It's detail that resonates. It's the articulation of the rarely articulated nuances of life—in a way that makes you remark, "Ahh, that’s how I'd put words to that feeling."

Finally, style is also our choice of *presentation*: • Wait But Why uses cartoon drawings and analogies to explain complex topics. • Maddox uses dark humor, crude GIFs, and videos to shock and entertain.

Would analogies, anecdotes, humor, or multimedia help better convey your ideas?  If so, consider using them. You want your ideas to resonate.

Recap: • Engage a reader's senses—paint vivid landscapes. • Engage a reader's imagination—have them do a little bit of work. • In non-fiction, try writing the way you sound. Your unfiltered self is a breath of fresh air amid all the online fakery.

The authenticity of who you really are, as opposed to who you wish everyone thought you were, is what your audience is looking for. —C. Robert Cargill

Business Writing 101 Learning to write at work is one of the best things you can do for your career, and this is a step-by-step guide for doing it well.

Why is business writing important? 1) Writing improves your judgment by clarifying your thinking. 2) Writing is democratic. It's one of the most effective ways to gain influence and share ideas, regardless of status. Here are 12 writing strategies

1/ Take notes in meetings In most companies, note-taking is a low-status job. But note-takers have tons of influence. They define the narrative, set the agenda, and influence the next action items. Tip: Share decisions, next action items, and add your personal take.

2/ Writing is the antidote to distortion "Not even a simple message can survive a game of telephone."
The spoken word has no copy & paste function. But writing does — and that's why it helps a company march in lockstep.

3/ Start a company newsletter The bigger a company, the harder it is to understand what's going on. Where is the industry heading? How is the company changing? What are the big roadblocks? By writing, you raise the company's intelligence and set a common vision.

4/ Write-up your decisions Don't just summarize your decisions. Summarize your thought process too. Doing so will help new hires understand how your company thinks. Explicitly stating your principles reduces politics, increases alignment, and creates a culture of speed.

5/ Become a magnet Good writing gets shared. When you share your ideas, you shatter corporate silos and attract like-minded people. People who you'd never otherwise meet reach out to you. Together, you can shape the vision and see it to fruition.

6/ Write to the C-Suite Distilling your perspective into a written document is among the best ways to reach executives. Every good executive wants to hear from people in the heart of the action. Don't wait for an invitation. Write your ideas and just email them to the CEO.

7/ Don't hoard knowledge. Share it. Bill Gates said it best: "The old saying 'Knowledge is Power' sometimes makes people hoard knowledge. They believe that knowledge hoarding makes them indispensable. Power comes not from knowledge kept but from knowledge shared.”

8/ Write a weekly review As a company grows, it's hard for executives to see what's happening inside their own company. Every Friday, send a short email to your boss with these three sections: 1) What's going well? 2) What am I struggling with? 3) What are my open questions?

9/ When it's important, write long-form Amazonians famously write six-page memos before big meetings. The best ones are a team effort. They're written and rewritten. Yes, writing takes time. But good writing is leverage because an excellent memo can land on the CEO's desk.

10/ Turn notes into polished writing Putting ideas on paper reduces company politics. Without the written word, you have to depend on flimsy memories, 1:1 updates, and need to be in the room to get things done. But words on a page don't care where you live.

11/ Share snippets Talk about what your team is working on and struggling with. Invite ideas by sharing your open questions. Start with the 5:15 format, created by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who said these should take less than 5 minutes to read and 15 minutes to write.

12/ Make your writing fun Business writing doesn't need to be boring. Inject it with life and energy and sometimes... humor. Demonstrate professionalism with sharp editing, good ideas, and clear thinking instead of big words.

Follow David Perell to improve your writing.

23 sentences that'll improve your writing more than 12 years of English class:

Delete “very” from your vocabulary.

Write below a 5th grade level.

Write first, edit later.

Write about the benefits, not features.

Don’t use the word “really” when describing something.

Use the words “you” and “your” to make your writing feel personal.

Use active voice, avoid passive voice.

Your writing sounds believable when you use specific numbers and language.

Starting sentences with “there” makes your writing hard to understand.

Write to generate ideas, edit to clarify them.

Space out your paragraphs so they’re easier to read.

Stop using “thing” as a descriptive word.

Use storytelling in your writing to make it more engaging.

Never use a complex word when a simple one will do.

Use 80% short sentences, 20% long ones.

Avoid words that end with “-ing.”

Your first sentence needs to be short and compelling.

Write every day, even if nobody reads it.

90% of the time, you can remove the word “that” from your writing.

Read your writing out loud to catch mistakes.

Saying “I think…” makes your writing sound weak.

Use contractions in your writing to make it sound conversational.

Use a website like Power Thesaurus to find powerful words to replace boring ones. - Dakota Robertson

Want to accelerate your career? Write better. THREAD: The principles of powerful business writing:

What do Buffett, Musk, & Bezos have in common (besides $$$)? They know powerful writing isn't an accident—clear writing is clear thinking. The principles of great business writing: • Draft Fast, Edit Slow • KISS • Clear Target Reaction • Storytelling Let's cover each:

Principle 1: Draft Fast, Edit Slow There's nothing more daunting than a blank page. So start fast—get a draft down (and don’t fret if it sucks). “Making something bad then iterating until it’s good is faster than making something good upfront.”

My "Write-Rest-Review" framework: Get the first draft down as quickly as possible. Walk away for 5 minutes—go for a walk, grab a coffee, whatever. Come back and review it. What's missing? Where are the logical flaws? When you review with "new" eyes, good things happen.

Principle 2: Keep It Simple, Stupid Most people assume that longer, more complex writing will impress and inspire. It doesn't. Great business writing is simple and direct. There's no fluff or handwaving—it's tactical. A few actionable tips to tighten and simplify:

Cut the Fluff In school, we were taught to heap descriptors into our writing—we were told it made it more vibrant. (It also helped fill out the word or page count we were forced to hit!) In the real world, those fluff words are assassins of punchy, powerful business writing.

Review your draft with an eye towards removing any unnecessary words & sentences. Some common fluff: • "I think X" • "very" (or similar adverbs) • Acronyms • Jargon • $10 words (fancy for no reason) Be ruthless in identifying and eliminating the fluff words & sentences.

Shorten Everything Powerful business writing is very similar to powerful Twitter writing. Shorter is better. Use short sentence structures. Space sentences or paragraphs out to make the writing more optically pleasing. Great business writing should be engaging to the eye.

Add Data This is a classic principle instilled by

Jeff Bezos

in Amazon's writing-centric culture. Replace fluff words with data. Before: "The majority of viewers loved the show." After: "95% of viewers rated the show with 5-stars." Clear & much more impactful.

Principle 3: Clear Target Reaction Great business writing has a clear target reaction—a deliberate purpose or aim. That target reaction should be experienced by the reader immediately. "Punch the reader in the face with your first sentence."

Amazon calls it the "so what?" test. Before you share any piece of business writing, identify the "so what?" of the piece. What reaction, value, or takeaway should the audience have? Is it coming across loud and clear? If not, go back to the drawing board and punch harder.

Principle 4: Storytelling Storytelling is a foundational skill—but it's one we don’t learn in the traditional education system. It's no coincidence that the greatest CEOs & founders are the greatest storytellers. High-leverage storytelling is a supercharger for all endeavors.

Humans are storytelling creatures—we developed around campfires. Lean into it. Adding a story to a memo on a dry topic can bring the entire piece to life. Simple, crisp stories enhance the power of the message.

A few ideas (without contradicting the KISS principle): Add a mini anecdote to illustrate a point. Use a folksy one-liner to draw people in (Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are the MASTERS of this). A storytelling touch will make your writing punch well above its weight.

Better business writing can change your life. To summarize, the key principles: • Draft Fast, Edit Slow • KISS • Clear Target Reaction • Storytelling Start using these and I guarantee you will see improvement. Follow

@SahilBloom

for more threads on business and finance!

Most people's writing is boring, or too complicated. here's 7 things that will make you a better writer. Let's start with the most non-obvious tip:

#1 - look at what I did in the first tweet. I created a "curiosity gap" ---> what are the 7 things? ...then I punched it up "let's start with the least obvious one" ---> ooh, I wonder what it is the goal of line #1 is to get you to line #2. Practice curiosity gaps.

#2 - Copy other people wanna learn music? Play covers of songs wanna learn to cook? Use recipes wanna learn to write? Start by HANDWRITING someone elses writing that you like. It's called "copywork". It is the cure for writers block. Do this or else...*dun dun dunnnn*

#3 - Write like you talk see how I put a sound effect at the end of the last tweet? It's like I'm talking out loud. Here's a tip. if you don't know what to write, just start talking out loud. Then write down what you said. Then go back and delete the umms & extra words

#4 - Forget What You Learned In School Schools reward you for: - using big words - and writing long essays ("minimum word count") The real world is the opposite. Great writing is: - simple words - shorter the better

#5 - Write like a boss Writing is a killer way to stand out inside a company. Here's a simple format on how to write inside a company: WHAT, WHY, SO WHAT? eg. WHAT happened? WHY did it happen? SO WHAT are we gonna do about it? Those 3 = clear crisp communication

It works for stuff that happened AND for things that are coming up (eg. launching a new project) WHAT are we going to do ? WHY are we going to do it ? SO WHAT do we need you to do?

#6 - EMOTION is the goal Most people think writing is about transferring INFORMATION but writing is actually about transferring EMOTION Emotion gets people to take action (like, share, buy, etc.), not information. Fear, Greed, Anger, Hope, Love, Certainty are your tools

#7 - Practice. Ok this is the obvious one. You get good at anything through practice & coaching. You gotta get reps. - Shaan Puri

If you can write better, you can connect with your readers better. If you can connect better, then you can sell more. This is what makes writing a valuable skill. Here are 5 ways to write better today

1. Know who you’re writing for This is the key to creating content that resonates with its audience. It also means you’ll choose the right words that align with your readers’ understanding.

2. Respect your readers’ time Get straight to the point and use the inverted pyramid technique to answer their question. This involves: • Starting with essential information • Providing additional details • Packing up with any remaining info (and a CTA, of course)

3. Don’t take your readers for fools Talk to your readers, not at them. Meaning: don’t dumb it down way too much. Plus, avoid redundancy. Repeating key points in a long-form post makes sense. But if you repeat ur key point after every paragraph, you’ll only get eye rolls.

4. Simplify things People are busy & mentally overloaded. They don’t have the time to decipher complex concepts. Your job? Make it easy for them by explaining it simply. Here’s how: • Use simple words • Write succinctly • Add visuals aids like screenshots & flowcharts

5. Always format for readability Make your content easy to read by making it easy on the eyes. A few tips to break text: • Use subheadings • Write bullet points • Add helpful visuals • Write short paragraphs - Masooma (Content Writer)

Leo Tolstoy was one of the greatest authors of all time... With a record of 6 consecutive nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature between 1902 - 1906. Here are 5 hacks from this genius that will 3x your writing in 2 minutes:

1. "I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, but in order not to get out of my routine". - Leo Tolstoy Consistency defeats hard work. Choose a minimum number of words that you would write daily no matter how you feel. Mine is 500 words.

2. "In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you." Work hard but don't be a workaholic. Take short breaks in between writing. Take a walk to the coffee store. See a movie. Talk with real people. Inspiration comes when you observe your environment.

3. "All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes into town." - Leo Tolstoy A powerful story is one that either describes a man discovering something new... Or something new happening to a man. Engage your reader's curiosity.

4. "I can't understand how anyone can write without rewriting over again." - Leo Tolstoy Write non-stop without erasing. Let it flow. But edit like crazy later. Thesaurus and Grammarly are your friends. Use them to check if your sentences are clear and the words are simple.

5. "A writer is dear and necessary for us only in the measure to which he reveals to us the inner workings of his soul" - Leo Tolstoy Great writers keep you spell bound.. bring you into their world.. and allow you savour the possibilities in it. Evoke emotions in your readers. - Bolu Ibosiola

0/ Good, concise writing is more than just writing. It’s art in its purest form. It’s expressing your thoughts like no other. It’s being YOU – and being you is powerful. Here’s how to write less and say more...

1/ Stick to your point like the bark to a tree As a writer, focus is your weapon. It gives you the mental strength to think in one single direction. And helps you stay relevant to your topic at each step. Don't make a point for the heck of it. Do it only when required.

2/ Quit wasting words Your words are precious, and so is your reader’s time. The more words you waste, the more time your reader loses. So the next time you feel the urge to use words like “very”, “really” and “actually”, think again. You can do without them.

3/ Write like you are talking to a “new” friend The reason being simple – you are naturally more careful about what you say when talking to a new friend. You choose your words wisely. You try to not make a bad impression. Above all, you speak concisely.

4/ Say “no” to passive voice Using active voice instead of passive voice makes a big difference. Active voice example: Millions of people use Twitter. Passive voice example: Twitter is used by millions of people. Sentences written in an active voice are more concise & direct.

5/ Be more precise Replace your weak words with stronger ones. Because they make your writing more insightful and to the point. Instead of saying, “The day was filled with exciting activities”, say, “The day was eventful”. Explore your vocabulary and dig out the best words.

6/ Balance clarity with brevity Don’t sacrifice clarity to achieve brevity. Have a strong balance between the two. It’s a mistake to assume your reader knows everything. They can read your writing, not your mind. So take them by hand and spell it out for them.

7/ Avoid falling in love with your words Always treat your words like replaceable commodities. They’re only good if they add meaning to your writing. If not, feel free to remove or replace them.

8/ Be a writer first, then an editor Writing is best done in a state of flow. Where you put your thoughts and ideas on paper in their raw form. The moment you stop to edit, this flow breaks. Understand that what you write is not set in stone. You can always improve it later on.

9/ Don’t sound like a broken record Repeating yourself over and over again makes your writing look boring and clumsy. Instead of writing the same thing several times, say it once and say it meaningfully. Create a smooth reader experience, not a confusing one.

10/ Use short, punchy sentences Long, wordy sentences add bulk to your writing and trigger your reader’s “ignore-o-meter”. Cultivate the habit of using short sentences. They’re fun to write, easier to read and help you convey your thoughts more clearly.

What next? Practice till your fingers bleed! It’s okay if you make little sense at first. It’s alright if you’re slow. It’s fine if you can’t get your creative juices flowing. The point is to start writing like there’s no tomorrow. Then edit ruthlessly. You know, be merciless. - Mustafa Khundmiri

If you've come this far, you deserve more than just a cookie.

Thank you for reading!

credit: Yannick from Hypefury