Writing is thinking
I didn’t always believe this. I do now.
The idea doesn’t exist fully-formed before you write it. Writing is the process by which the idea becomes itself. When I struggle to write something, it’s usually because I haven’t actually figured out what I think yet.
This is why morning pages work. Not because the writing is good — it’s almost never good — but because the act of moving a pen or typing clears the cache and surfaces what’s actually there.
What this means in practice
- Start writing before you’re ready. The readiness comes through writing.
- The first draft is thinking, not writing. Don’t judge it.
- If a sentence is hard to write, the thought is unclear. Rewrite the thought, not the sentence.
- Note-making is different from note-taking — making is synthesis, taking is collection.
The Matuschak claim
Andy Matuschak argues that notes should be written as claims — complete sentences that assert something true. Not “Memory systems” but “Memory systems externalise cognitive load so you can think about harder things.” The title is the idea.
I’m building this site on that principle. Every note here is a claim, not a category.
Where I’m going with this
I want to develop a real writing practice — essays, ideas, things worth saying. This site is part of that. Showing work is part of the work.
Permanent note. Will evolve but the core won’t change.