Writing up
Corps d’otage, Jean Fautrier, 1943-44
Before we get going, I figured I should just write you an email to say thank you.
I’ve spent long hours this past week wandering the ravines by the ocean, to give myself space to hear my thoughts and ground myself in what I believe. It is a good idea to do this from time to time, so you can figure out where you want to go. One of the things I realized, as I looked at the broken statues at the stone cutter’s graveyard by the harbor, was that I want to write upwards.
What do I mean by this phrase?
Last fall, I wrote an essay called A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox. It was about how putting your work out on the internet helps you attract people who can help you evolve and grow into a better version of yourself.
For this to work, your writing needs to be at the edge of your knowledge, it needs to address the most fascinating people you know or can imagine. That is: you need to write up. If you don’t do that, if you write down to an audience who you treat as lower than you, as a group of people you need to educate or entertain, then, well, you will attract people like that—and they will not help you grow.