Curation is an Easy Way to Start Writing#
I am very happy that many friends have read the content I wrote. For a long time, I have worked as a curator on different web3 platforms and in communities. I have to say that for those who want to enter this industry, curation is a low-entry but gradually deepening path.
Simply put, curation is introducing topics you are interested in to others in your own words, and the creation of these introductory texts about the topics is writing.
Learning through Writing#
Regarding writing, I increasingly feel that it is a very efficient learning method. During the writing process, it is easy to discover the unfamiliar details in which we lack familiarity. Then we can use this prompt to improve our knowledge system.
At the same time, the process of writing is a process of rethinking and understanding the content. Through writing, we have a deeper and exclusive understanding of the content.
In this way, we can complete the learning of specific content through writing about it.
Constructing Oneself through Writing#
Every day, I receive a lot of industry content through social media, RSS, email subscriptions, and other channels. At the same time, there is also communication with the community and various practitioners. In this process, I read articles of different styles and different subfields, which raises a question: others have already written so much, do ordinary people like us still need to write? After thinking about it for a long time, I came to the conclusion that it is very necessary.
Human knowledge is inherited through constant rewriting, and this is even more important for individuals. By writing our own thoughts, we spread our thoughts on the field, which is the construction of our own knowledge system. Different people may be interested in different ways of expression, and our writing style may happen to appeal to some people, thus influencing them. This is also a very meaningful thing.
Writing is the Field Where Thinking Happens#
Recently, I have realized that thinking happens through writing, rather than writing out the results of thinking. Before, when writing about a topic, I always had to read a lot of materials and create a writing framework. I had to have enough understanding and thinking about the topic before I could start writing. In this case, it would take a long time and it would be difficult to start writing. However, after changing my mindset, the threshold for starting writing will be lowered. Instead of thinking about having a complete result before outputting, we should think deeply and explore the topic during the writing process, completing the thinking about the topic through writing.
The key is two steps:
- Start writing, it can be random, just write a few hundred words.
- In the process of writing, improve the thinking about the topic, treating writing as the field where thinking happens.
Updating Content Rhythm#
Although I envy and admire friends who update regularly, I personally cannot do it. One reason is that I feel that regular updates can easily lead to creative anxiety. I would think about making commitments to others through writing, but in the process, I would lose the joy of writing.
At the same time, it is easy to write about topics that I am not very interested in or hastily write incomplete content just for the sake of regular publishing.
I think such writing has no meaning.
Form of Article Writing#
Here, the form refers to the length of the article. Many friends write very long articles, often exceeding 5,000 words, and sometimes even more than 10,000 words. Reading such articles used to be my choice for a long time, as these long articles allow for an in-depth understanding of a topic. However, after a long period of reading long articles, I found that although the authors put a lot of passion into producing high-quality content, from my perspective, this type of long-form writing has two problems to face:
- Readers - Reading long content requires dedicated time and a large amount of energy, and even after reading, not all of it can be absorbed (giving too much at once).
- Writers - Writing long-form text is too exhausting. After finishing one, it is difficult to have the desire to start the next one (professional writers may not be too troubled by this).
Faced with such challenges, I have come up with a writing method that suits me, drawing inspiration from artistic works to create a series. For example, if I write about potatoes, I won't write a 20,000-word long article, but I will have a "Potato Series" and construct a complete work through multiple short pieces.
This form of writing brings about significant changes. First, there are no longer strong thoughts like "procrastination" or "wait until I have thought it through" before writing. I can start writing directly. Second, compared to writing long articles, the process of writing a series of works generates new ideas, giving the whole writing process a sense of "growth". Lastly, for readers, they can also read short articles one by one, thus understanding the content they are interested in through a series. The threshold for reading is also lowered.
Writing Style#
I really enjoy reading highly professional articles and academic papers, but I want my own writing to be casual and colloquial, easy to understand.
I believe that complex and highly logical content can still be expressed clearly in an easy-to-understand and colloquial manner.
Reducing the reading threshold for readers and improving the user experience of reading is a question that writers need to consider.
In conclusion, writing is an extremely beneficial activity for individuals and an effective training path for improving self-thinking. Don't think too much, just write a few hundred words.
Wishing all friends well!
Reading List
Books:
"Complex Governance: The Evolutionary Principles of Individuals and Organizations" by Luo Jiade and Zeng Fengyou
"The Post-Truth Era" by Hector Macdonald
"The Chinese Stock God Lin Yuan's Stock Trading Secrets"
"Observation Report on Global Web3 Ecological Innovation - 2022" Link
"The Complexity of Cooperation" by Robert Axelrod
"My Experience and Lessons" by Su Shimin
"Fundamental Logic" by Liu Run
"Links" by Barabasi
"Blockchain: The Fact Machine Empowering Everything" by Paul Vigna
"Binance: Review 2022, Outlook 2023"
"Only the Paranoid Survive" by Andrew S. Grove
"The Feynman Learning Technique: Using Output to Drive Input"
"Archery and Zen Mind" by Herrigel
"Coffee Coffee Everywhere" by Jeremy Toth
"The New World" by Eckhart Tolle
You can also find me in these places:
Mirror: Hoodrh
Twitter: Hoodrh
Jike: Hoodrh
XLog: Hoodrh
SubStack: Hoodrh
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