Nobody needs their fortieth pen. That has never stopped anyone who truly loves stationery from buying it anyway, because a new notebook still feels like a small event no matter how many already sit in the drawer. This list is for that person, not the casual note taker, but…
Louis Menand reviews “On the Mark,” by Florence Hazrat, and “Verb Your Enthusiasm,” by Sarah Kaufman.
Thomas Ptacek on using LLMs as copyeditors, not as writing assistants: Rule Number One: You may not use a single word an LLM suggests to you. [...] I think that …
Writing was invented three different times in world history—in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica. But not all writing systems derive from those three original scripts. How can this be?
Click through for our favourite writing from the New York Times
There is a specific quality to well-made Japanese stationery that is difficult to name and easy to recognize. It is not about price or brand recognition. It is the sense that the object was designed by someone who used a pen every single day and got quietly frustrated with…
Because I am known to write using a fountain pen on paper, a number of people have pointed me to this post and its underlying research. I won’t rehash what is said in those sources, but the gist of it is that when you write things down by hand you’re recruiting more of your…
and changed me for the better! probably not physically
“What has been my prettiest contribution to the culture?” asked Kurt Vonnegut in his autobiography Palm Sunday. His answer?
Outstanding essays on the craft of writing by some of the world's best authors
Fundamentals is a new series that highlights my core concepts in communication, leadership, and influence that I personally keep coming back to.
The New Orleans writer Nancy Lemann conjures scenes of booze-soaked calamity, where everyone and everything is on the verge of rot, Brandy Jensen writes.
The best writing of 2025 as chosen by the American Society of Magazine Editors
Great articles and essays by the world's best journalists and writers.
English prose has become much easier to read. But shorter sentences had little to do with it.
We think we are looking at a language that got simpler
Sentences can be simple (one main clause), compound (two or more main clauses linked with a conjunction), complex (a main clause with dependent clauses, i.e. clauses that cannot stand alone), or complex-compound (one or more dependent clauses and two or more main clauses).
Image via Wikimedia Commons Most everyone who knows the work of George Orwell knows his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” (published here), in which he rails against careless, confusing, and unclear prose. “Our civilization is decadent,” he argues, “and our…
Windows, Mirrors, and Lenses: On Intentional Prose What is writing style? Is it a) an expression of your personality, a mysterious, innate quality, o…
intro requests that don’t suck
Back-to-school shopping usually means grabbing whatever's cheapest at the campus bookstore, but Japanese stationery culture operates on a completely different level. While you're stocking up on basic supplies, Japanese designers are obsessing over how every tiny detail can make…
The snail may leave a trail of slime behind him, but a little slime will do a man no harm... whilst if you dance with dragons, you must expect to burn. - George R. R. Martin, The Mystery Knight As any Game of Thrones fan knows, being a knight has its downsides.
A simple but powerful approach to note taking
If you aren’t careful, you may come across as less sincere because your writing doesn’t translate your intent. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t happen.
On the value of human-generated scientific writing in the age of large-language models.
The path to creative mastery begins with years of silence. Publish anyway.
It was the summer of 1952, and the executives of Tombow Pencil were about to revolutionize the Japanese pencil industry—or, possibly, fall flat on their faces. Hachiro Ogawa, the son of founder Harunosuke Ogawa, was Tombow's managing director, and he had just finished a…
Some sentences just sound awkward. In order to ensure clarity, writers need to consider more than just grammar: weight is equally important. In the following extract from Making Sense, acclaimed linguist David Crystal shows how sentence length (and weight) affects writing…
What both these examples show is the importance of length, or weight.
Both illustrate the principle of end-weight.
The power of a robust honor code—and abundant institutional resources
Stationery remains essential, adapting to global trends like sustainability, and minimalism, and bridging the gap between digital and analog domains. With technological advancements, stationery for school and office settings is progressing towards smarter, sustainable products…
You’re working on the most complex problem in computer science: fixing permissions on a deployment pipeline. It’s been 4 days you started on that simple task...
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From Shirley Jackson's ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’, of course.
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Ten great opening paragraphs from one iconic author.
50 Types of Social Media Posts to Engage Your Audience In the vibrant world of social...
Read our article to learn about the best online writing tools out there to help you with your writing projects.
Write effortlessly and efficiently with QuillBot's suite of AI tools. Paraphrase, check grammar, analyze tone, improve fluency, and more. Start doing your best work.
Academic writing has a bad reputation.
This is how I publish to my Git-based blog straight from Obsidian (kind of)
From Wubi to Zhineng ABC, here are the different ways Chinese people have typed their language over the years.
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The family-owned facility in Tennessee produces more than 70 million pencils annually
The writing system is 6,000 years old, but its influence is still felt today
…and how they got that way
Industrial genius Carl Braun believed that clear thinking and clear communication go hand in hand. Here the guide on writing productively to get things done.
The rise, fall, and rediscovery of cuneiform
Paul Laurence Dunbar became the first Black writer to earn international acclaim through his poetry, essays and musical lyrics.
This article will discuss content syndication in more detail, how it works, and the benefits of using this technique.
George Stebbins was tearing down a stone wall in the cellar of his home in Northfield, Massachusetts when he uncovered the bones. A skull emerged first, then the spine and the bones of the arms and…
https://youtu.be/txci5QkpSWc Writing things by hand has become fashionable again despite the prevalence of computers and smartphones. In fact, some have embraced this "analog" system of note-taking exactly as a reaction to the dominant reliance on technology. Whatever the…