Writers

two types of writers

- ones who figure out what resonates with the audience and then double down on that the rest of their lives 

- ones who are seeking surprise for themselves in their writing 

the former has a half life of around 10 years while the latter is really prolific or an inconsistent genius

witness gonzo | writing at summerlightning.substack.com
| sachinbenny.xyz 

Love that! I hadn’t articulated it as looking for surprises but I identify with the second one.

I use writing to double down on my special interests, and let them guide me down rabbit holes.

Sometimes, I manage to turn those into a pitch that will interest a pub and that feels like sharing a secret w the world.

I used to think I had standards but then I discovered the trenches of trad publishing

And the hybrids who can't quite choose one or the other.

Two kinds of writers

A. Those who think they know what they are talking about

B. Those who talk like they don’t know what they’re thinking about

No reason these should be mutually exclusive but in practice they mostly are

I’m almost exclusively B. All my writing grasps at stuff just outside my cognitive reach

And this shows up in the styles of writing too. If you’re constantly seeing surprise, you’re writing about things that are hazier to you and your language will reflect that

And this shows up in the styles of writing too. If you’re constantly seeing surprise, you’re writing about things that are hazier to you and your language will reflect that https://warpcast.com/vgr/0xff3892df