The need to write
Follow Paul Graham's articles: The need to read.
Friday afternoon, I hit a kind of roadblock while brainstorming new ideas at work. To clear my thoughts, I decided to take a break and hopefully found something interesting. That's when I came across the articles "The Need to Read" by Paul Graham (a famous computer scientist, entrepreneur, investor, and author; co-founder of the seed capital firm Y Combinator) [1].
In the articles, Paul points out that reading is hard to replace because of its importance for writing. And writing is a great way to discover new things.
“Reading about x doesn't just teach you about x; it also teaches you how to write.”
“The reason it would matter is that writing is not just a way to convey ideas,
but also a way to have them.”
Talking about your ideas with other people is a good way to develop them. But even after doing this, you'll find you still discover new things when you sit down, structure and express all your thoughts when writing.
Despite all the benefits, why are people usually lazy to write? Because, as Paul said, putting your ideas into words is hard. [2]
Writing about something, even something you know well, usually shows you that you didn't know it as well as you thought.
Putting ideas into words is a severe test. The first words you choose are usually wrong; you have to rewrite sentences over and over to get them exactly right. And your ideas won't just be imprecise, but incomplete too. Half the ideas that end up in an essay will be ones you thought of while you were writing it.
Indeed, that's why I write them.
Personally, I relate to this struggle. I have a collection of drafts on this blog, many of which consist of only a few paragraphs. However, these incomplete pieces serve as reminders that I am trying to know more about the subject. Even I haven’t finish writing yet, these moments motivate me to unlearn and relearn.
So, instead of writing full articles, I try to take small steps. During brainstorming sessions, I write more using my iPad. As I jot down the ideas, they become clearer, led me to better understanding. Taking it a step further, I write my thoughts into complete sentences using Notion. Even if the first step of writing is ok, the second one often helps me refine my thoughts and generate new ideas.
Just publishing this post to let you know that I am still on the way of writing and want to share with you some insightful articles. If you, like me, sometimes struggle to convey or generate new ideas, learning to write may be a helpful solution.
“[Beside reading and writing], people who just want information may find other ways to get it.
But people who want to have ideas can't afford to.”
We seek ideas, and thus, we read and write.
Hey there! If you drop a heart icon or leave a comment,
it would really inspire me to keep writing :d
[1] The Need to Read, Paul Graham: http://www.paulgraham.com/read.html
[2] Putting Ideas into Words, Paul Graham: http://www.paulgraham.com/words.html