PG Essays Putting ideas into words
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Jul 14, 2023 The podcast discusses the challenges of expressing ideas through writing, emphasizing the importance of multiple revisions. It explores the transformative power of writing and the need to approach one's work objectively. Additionally, it highlights that putting ideas into words is not always easy and argues that while writing is a stricter and more effective way to explore and refine ideas, it doesn't guarantee their correctness.
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Writing Is The Ultimate Clarifier
- Putting ideas into words is a severe test that reveals imprecision and incompleteness.
- Writing forces you to rewrite until the stranger-reader finds the argument correct and complete.
Read As A Stranger First
- Read your draft as a neutral stranger and ask what additional information they'd need.
- If the stranger objects, add details or qualifications even at the cost of polishing prose.
Mental Drafts Survive To Final Copy
- The speaker sometimes composes paragraphs mentally while walking or lying in bed that survive into the final essay.
- He clarifies this is still writing — the mental part — even when his fingers don't move.