How sloppy is your thinking?

I’m going to try something in these emails for the next few days.

Rather than start each one with my own idea — I’m gonna begin with someone else’s idea. Specifically, a quote.

From there, I’ll write some commentary and see where it takes us.

I’ve posted hundreds of good quotes on Instagram — there are at least a few dozen absolute bangers.

Here’s today’s:

Writing is nature’s way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is.
—Dick Guindon

Real talk, Dick. I’ve been going back through a bunch of my old content — and it’s striking how unclear my thinking was. I’m making a real effort to tighten up.

Knowing how sloppy your thinking is allows you to sharpen it, test your arguments, and try out different explanations.

Paying attention to all of this is a big reason why this 100-day email project feels so much more difficult than the 30-60 day efforts I’ve made in the past.

I used to just crank them out — one pass — quick read through to make sure there weren’t any glaring errors — and then send.

Looking back, I realize there were two problems. First, it’s unclear in much of my writing whether I knew what I wanted to say to begin with. Second, even when I did know, I didn’t take the time to re-read — to check if I succeeded.

While the current daily publication schedule doesn’t allow me as much time as I’d like to make revisions, I’m spending a lot more time lately making sure each email says what I want it to say.

In fact, I’m asking for notes and help from one of the best writers I know. She’s been a godsend for helping me figure out if I’m actually accomplishing what I set out to accomplish — if I’m saying what I meant to say.

That’s one of the more difficult things about writing.

Making individual sentences is simple.

Especially short sentences. The kind I like best.

Putting sentences together to construct a coherent argument is more challenging. As is the part after you’ve written — determining what the paragraphs say, and what they don’t say — that’s not so simple either.

When you sit down to write, knowing what you want to say is necessary. But it ends up being useless if you don’t take the time to check afterward whether or not you actually said it.