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Not every idea is a good idea. But maybe a small part of it is, or maybe it can grow into one, or maybe it will lead to the next good idea, or maybe you just need to get all those lousy ideas out of the way so the good ones have room to breathe.
Or maybe it just feels good to write and this fixation on good vs bad ideas is the thing that’s in the way.
Nov 4, 2024
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read this somewhere a few months back and it’s stuck with me. i have a horrible memory, so now i’ve started writing everything down.
my own little commonplace book for my thoughts and other people’s thoughts. my own little second brain (check out tiago forte 🙏🙏)
WRITE THINGS DOWN!! you’ll thank yourself when you’re feeling uninspired, because chances are your brain had an idea a week ago, a month ago, even a year ago, that can fix that.
Jan 29, 2024
Dec 30, 2024
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setting a timer for ~20 minutes and just writing without stopping until the timer goes off is *really* good - because at the end of it you have a draft you can revise, which i think is easier and feels a lot more like making progress than emotionally preparing to write something you might not like.
dan harmon has this quote that i think was really helpful to getting me to see the value of just getting the reps in (without all the self-loathing):
*“My best advice about writer’s block is: the reason you’re having a hard time writing is because of a conflict between the GOAL of writing well and the FEAR of writing badly. By default, our instinct is to conquer the fear, but our feelings are much, much, less within our control than the goals we set, and since it’s the conflict BETWEEN the two forces blocking you, if you simply change your goal from “writing well” to “writing badly,” you will be a veritable fucking fountain of material…Prove it. It will go faster. And then, after you write something incredibly shitty in about six hours, it’s no problem making it better in passes, because in addition to being absolutely untalented, you are also a mean, petty CRITIC. You know how you suck and you know how everything sucks and when you see something that sucks, you know exactly how to fix it.”*
Mar 22, 2024
Top Recs from @withnickotte
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I’ve never had a bad time
Oct 29, 2024
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Recommending this for myself because I never do it but when I do it always helps me get what’s inside outside.
Apr 9, 2024
Some of my favorite movie-going experiences weren’t ones I was looking forward to for months but ones where a friend had an extra ticket or someone said “you would like this” and I went in totally blind.
Specifically, last night I saw “Ash Is Purest White” followed by a q&a with director Jia Zhangke. A great film with an absolutely knock out lead performance by Zhao Tao. I didn’t know any of these names before last night.
Take a chance!
Nov 14, 2024