Published author, ghostwriter, novelist, poet, comma maximalist. I teach you powerful rhetorical tricks to improve your writing and get paid online.

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James Carran

The worst writing productivity advice I've ever seen:

"Take a break every 30 minutes."

Are you crazy?

Get in flow, stay there as long as you can, then stop.

You'll write 10x more this way.

Craftsman Writer. Published author, ghostwriter, novelist, poet, comma maximalist. I teach you powerful rhetorical tricks to improve your writing and get paid online.

How to become an amazing writer in 8 easy steps:

1. Read
2. Read
3. Read
4. Read
5. Read
6. Read
7. Read
8. Write

All there is to it really.

I'm going to settle this right now:

If you can count it, it's fewer.
If you can't count it, it's less.

"There were fewer emails to read."
vs
"I had less work to do."

Easy.

You can't write something worth reading until you've lived something worth writing.

Shorter isn't better.

Don't write: "He was mean."

Write: "He'd cheat a widow out of her last coins, just because he could."

Show, don't tell.

Even if it takes longer.

Delete "that".

Don't write "He thought that it was a good idea."

Write: "He thought it was a good idea."

Cleaner, and easier to read.

(If it breaks the sentence, put it back.)

Read a real book.

X-Twitter rots your brain and spoils your writing.

So do most self help and business books.

Pick up a classic novel instead.

You'll write better.

By age 30 you should have realised writing is the most powerful skill in the modern world.

It's wild how many terrible writers make amazing money because they just keep putting themselves out there and never doubt their ability.

Something to think about

Writing is a skill, not a talent.

You can learn.

You can improve.

Everything is online now.

Everything is writing.

Never neglect it.

The world belongs to the writer who writes even when nobody will ever read it.

Sometimes I write at night.
Sometimes I write in the morning.
Sometimes I write at lunch.
Sometimes I write on my phone.
Sometimes I write at the desk.

The important thing is writing every day, not where or what time you do it.

Writer's block is just a fancy word for laziness.

Avoid negatives.

Never write "He wasn't the best of shots"

When you can write "He was a bad shot"

Your readers brain will skip the negative, then have to go back and correct it, which jars them out of the reading trance.

Rephrase it.

Stop overthinking.

Write it. Edit it. Publish it.

Move on to the next thing.

1/100 aspiring authors will start writing.
1/100 of those will finish the book.
1/100 of those will publish.

It doesn't take much to beat the average.

People say coffee can't replace water but I think they just don't drink enough coffee.

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Brett Erik

Discipline is a calculation, not a state. 

The choice to be disciplined isn't even about the choice itself, it's the decision to weigh outcomes on the correct timeline/scale before you make xyz choice.

"I said 12pm today, will I do what it takes to hit that deadline?"
"I said no carbs, will I follow through even when traveling?"
etc.

When you look at circumstances with only a "here and now" time horizon, you are in-fact being disciplined -- but disciplined according to the correct time horizon.

You are weighing the "now" choice against the "now" outcome

To be disciplined, all you need to do weight the "now" choice with the "long-term" outcome. Especially true if you have a clear life vision.

If you make space for the long-term outcomes, it tips the implicit scales in your brain that assign reward/risk to your choices. This is one of the main reasons "just be disciplined" is not sufficient for most people when push comes to shove.

If your life-vision, your desired outcome, is so attractive that it far outweighs the short-term benefits of xyz choice, you stand a far better chance at following through on the promises you make to yourself.

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