I cannot stop thinking about this prediction from Paul Graham…

I’m usually reluctant to make predictions about technology, but I feel fairly confident about this one: in a couple decades there won’t be many people who can write.

The reason so many people have trouble writing is that it’s fundamentally difficult. To write well you have to think clearly, and thinking clearly is hard.

And yet writing pervades many jobs, and the more prestigious the job, the more writing it tends to require.

But almost all pressure to write has dissipated.

You can have AI do it for you, both in school and at work.

The result will be a world divided into writes and write-nots.

Instead of good writers, ok writers, and people who can’t write, there will just be good writers and people who can’t write.

Is that so bad?

Isn’t it common for skills to disappear when technology makes them obsolete?

There aren’t many blacksmiths left, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Yes, it’s bad.

Because, writing is thinking.

In fact there’s a kind of thinking that can only be done by writing.

If you’re thinking without writing, you only think you’re thinking.

So a world divided into writes and write-nots is more dangerous than it sounds. It will be a world of thinks and think-nots.

There will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.

This is coming from the guy who groomed Sam Altman to lead OpenAI.

Not some luddite.

And I believe he’s one hundo percento correcto.

We’re entering into a time that if you’re not writing daily right now — you are opting in to say:

“I want the government, robots and other people to steal my autonomy & do all my thinking for me.”

NPC behavior, if I may say.

But for those of those who scream “La Resistance!”…

I’ve enlisted none other than Paul Graham to show us how to write.

Print this email.

*Write a bad version 1 as fast as you can; rewrite it over and over;

*cut out everything unnecessary

*write in a conversational tone

*develop a nose for bad writing, so you can see and fix it in yours;

*imitate writers you like

*if you can’t get started, tell someone what you plan to write about, then write down what you said

*expect 80% of the ideas in an essay to happen after you start writing it, and 50% of those you start with to be wrong

*be confident enough to cut

*have friends you trust read your stuff and tell you which bits are confusing or drag

*don’t (always) make detailed outlines

*mull ideas over for a few days before writing

*carry a small notebook or scrap paper with you

*start writing when you think of the first sentence

*if a deadline forces you to start before that, just say the most important sentence first

*write about stuff you like

*don’t try to sound impressive

*don’t hesitate to change the topic on the fly

*use footnotes to contain digressions

*use anaphora to knit sentences together

*read your essays out loud to see (a) where you stumble over awkward phrases and (b) which bits are boring (the paragraphs you dread reading)

*try to tell the reader something new and useful

*work in fairly big quanta of time

*when you restart, begin by rereading what you have so far

*when you finish, leave yourself something easy to start with

*accumulate notes for topics you plan to cover at the bottom of the file

*don’t feel obliged to cover any of them

*write for a reader who won’t read the essay as carefully as you do, just as pop songs are designed to sound ok on crappy car radios

*if you say anything mistaken, fix it immediately

*ask friends which sentence you’ll regret most

*go back and tone down harsh remarks

*publish stuff online, because an audience makes you write more, and thus generate more ideas

*print out drafts instead of just looking at them on the screen

*use simple, germanic words

*learn to distinguish surprises from digressions

*learn to recognize the approach of an ending, and when one appears, grab it.

Inspired?

Good, you should be!

And for God Sakes… start writing.

The easiest and simplest way is to do what I do.

Write a daily email.

(Like this)

​Here’s a link to start your own email list with Kit.​

(It’s the software I’ve been using for 5 years)

If you want to make money from writing those emails, click this.​

It’s my Skool community where I’ll coach you.

Either way…

Start writing.

Your friend,

Alin “Email Goat” Dragu