Meditations on Writing

I don’t consider myself a writer, but I strongly believe writing is essential for effective communication. We all write, and we can all get better at writing.

That’s one of the main reasons I started this newsletter. I want to build an intentional practice of writing — and improving — every week.

David Perell (“The Writing Guy”) is a great authority on this topic. I know friends who have taken his course Write of Passage and speak very highly of it. However, he also has a ton of valuable content available online for free, including his new podcast show How I Write.

His show has been on my list for a while, but I finally got a chance to listen to a couple episodes this week. I’m hooked.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to unpack a few of the learnings I took away from his interviews with Chamath Palihapitiya and Lenny Rachitsky.

• Why Chamath? I’ve long found his Social Capital annual letters insightful, and I listen to nearly every episode of The All-In Podcast he co-hosts. His approach to learning (see recent tweet) is also very similar to how I’m thinking about Growth Meditations.

• Why Lenny? I’m inspired by his journey from Product leader to content creator, and I love his newsletter and podcast. He delivers extremely thoughtful advice with a high signal-to-noise ratio that is actionable and succinct. But most of all, I appreciate his humility.

Both of their perspectives really resonated with me, in part, because neither guest identifies as a writer. Similar to me, they have engineering backgrounds — without any formal education in writing or the humanities — but both are committed to effective communication and continuing to improve their craft.

Here are my current thoughts and reflections…

Zoom Out:

1. Why do we write?

Most people use writing to process their own psychological moment in time. This can be a great mechanism to get feedback, but it also gives a snapshot into your psychology. It’s also why 99% of writing is garbage (much of it’s for the writer, not the audience).

• Takeaway: It’s great to use writing as a way to get clarity of thought, but that doesn’t mean you should post it online (especially in the moment). Real-time communication has both power and downside.

• Chamath’s advice: Write a first draft with exactly what you want to say. Let your emotions fuel it. Then, take time to recenter and ground yourself. As you re-read it, ask yourself if this is coming from a place of arrogance or insecurity? If so, delete the draft or modify it.

2. Why should we write?

The best writing explains an idea or concept. It’s used to put something into the world that can grow.

• Takeaway: While this is probably only 1% of writing, it can be an extremely effective way to breathe energy into good companies and good ideas that are trying to do important things in the world. It can also provide tremendous leverage for the writer.

• Chamath’s advice: Start writing your perspectives and publish them.

3. Verbal vs. written communication:

Chamath expressed that it’s much easier for him to get into a flow state during verbal communication, whereas writing feels like a much more permanent documentation so it’s easy to second guess himself.

This really resonated with me.

• David’s advice: Go on a walk and use voice transcription software (e.g., GPT-4, Otter.ai, etc.). This will get you to a first draft that isn’t coming from a place of fear, and you’ll have a transcript you can edit.

Focus:

Chamath’s Framework for Effective Communication:

When Chamath led user growth at Facebook, they used a simple 4-step framework to solve problems: Acquisition, Activation, Engagement, Virality.

Here’s what it looked like at Facebook:

• Acquisition — Get people to sign up.

• Activation — Help them quickly make their first friend.

• Engagement — Provide actual product value.

• Virality — Get them to share it with others.

Chamath argued the same framework applies to writing and communication:

• Acquisition — What’s the hook? Find a way to cut through the noise of what your audience is reading every day.

• Activation — TL;DR. Why it matters, and why they should pay attention. Be clear on what they can expect.

• Engagement — In your explanation, make it easy for your reader to separate facts from interpretations. Don’t confuse objectivity with subjectivity.

• Virality — End with a conclusive value add, and be clear why it was worth their time. Even if they don’t agree with the idea, it should be something conclusive they can react to.

Said more concisely…

• Be factual (unemotional and organized)

• Start in a punchy way (hook and TL;DR)

• End in a useful way (conclusive and additive)

Lenny’s Formula for High Signal-to-Noise Essays:

Similar to Chamath’s advice, Lenny recommends being direct: “Just tell the answer right away. Then say, if you want to learn more, here’s how I got here.”

In addition to that advice, Lenny also outlined the simple, yet thoughtful, process he uses to write his deeply researched essays every week.

1. Pick a question the audience wants answered. Sometimes it a question he’s been asked a lot, and other times it’s just a topic he’s curious about and wants to get to the bottom of.

2. Identify experts. Who would the audience most trust? It’s more about the company than the individual. Tip: Find an SVP or early employee that knows a lot, but is more accessible to talk to than the founder or CEO.

3. Interview them. Ask everyone the same questions, and get as much knowledge out of them as possible. Don’t underestimate people’s willingness to share and be helpful.

4. Synthesize your notes. Look for patterns, then create bullet points of key takeaways. Use this as a foundation to write the narrative.

5. Bring it to life. Make it memorable by finding a great quote or way to visualize / portray the main points. The example he shared was an essay he wrote using the plot of Oceans 11 as a way to describe how strategy, vision, mission, goals, and roadmap all work together. He said that pop references like this work the best, but it’s really hard for him. David’s advice: Use ChatGPT — let it know “here’s what I’m trying to say, and I need a good pop reference to bring it to life.” After going back and forth a few times, you’ll have a memorable example.

Be Centered:

What is most important?

As Lenny reflected on his successful writing process (that he stumbled upon over time), he realized it’s different than the advice David Perell gives to “find your personal monopoly.”

If I followed that advice, I’d be “Mr. Product Management Guy” — but I’d be SO BORED by that… so I decided to focus on a few topics I was interested in.

David responded that motivation and excitement to keep going are such a key part of writing, and only YOU have a sense of what will keep you going.

My final takeaway:

These frameworks can be a great starting point, but you have to make it your own and do what feels natural.

At the end of the day, I want to focus on topics I’m interested in that I think people will find valuable… and do it in a way that is unique to me.

Which leads me to a great quote from David Perell’s interview with Gary Tann:

I believe there is so much power that comes from authenticity and vulnerability. While I struggle with it, I’m inspired to keep creating and see what happens.

I’ll end with a reminder to myself and whoever else needs it…

Thanks for reading!

I’d love to hear what tips above resonate the most with you.

Until next week, keep growing »

Scott​

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