Write the Same Thing 100 Times
Why the best writers repeat themselves.
The Jason Zweig Rule
Good writing is almost always ancient wisdom, repackaged for the present moment. That’s why most self-help books (to me) feel like a derivative of “The Art Of Living” by Epictetus.
High-output writers don’t invent new ideas every week. They repeat the same ideas—slightly differently—over and over again.
Technology changes.
Language changes.
But good advice rarely changes.
No one embodied that mindset more than Jason Zweig, long time writer of the Intelligent Investor column for The Wall Street Journal.
In an essay worth bookmarking, he writes:
Zweig articulated a truth about writing that I had an inkling about, but never been able to fully articulate until now:
Great writers repeat the same (good) advice many times.
Becoming An Idea Machine
Ben Thompson, founder of Stratechery, publishes an insane volume of high-quality analysis every week.
He’s open about his writing method in an interview with David Perell on How I Write:
Have an overall view of the world and how it works.
Process news and information as it happens.
Feed that information into your ‘worldview machine’. The output is your content.
In this way, Ben Thompson operates like Henry Ford’s Model T assembly line.
He uses the same components (his worldview), in different configurations (his essays), to create a high volume of output (his body of work).
How My Writing System Is Changing
Here’s how I’m putting these principles into practice:
Defining my worldview. The handful of truths I have high conviction in.1
Being unafraid to revisit the same old advice in different ways.
Thanks for reading.
— GV
My “About” page now has many of those truths, though some are stored privately on my Apple Notes.
Thanks for the meaningful post! I was listening to Huberman’s podcast lately, and the key to changing a habit was simply showing up. So respect to your writing—meaningful, straightforward, and a great tip!