Why I Write

My thoughts on writing and why I keep doing it

Giammarco Pacifico
August 07, 2024

For the past 3 years, I've been writing at least 3-4 times a week. Today I'll share why I keep doing it and why you should consider it too.

After reading many articles on writing, I realized there is no “writing advice or hack” that works for everyone and each person has a different approach that suits them.

So here are a few reflections on my experience with writing and some thoughts on the role of writing in my life. They might not work for you but I hope you find them useful on your way to becoming a better writer.

Let writing find you

I never considered myself a writer.

But looking back, I realize that writing has always been part of my life.

My journey started in primary school when I launched a school publication called "La Bomba" (or "The Bomb") about the latest news and gossip happening in our school. It was just a few pages long and I still remember writing the articles by hand, collecting news from kids in other classes before printing the pages and stapling them together.

During the morning break, kids would stand in line to get one of the 30-ish copies available, happily paying €0.50 to know what was happening in the school.

Unfortunately, it did not last long because one day the teachers told us it was forbidden to sell things to other kids and gave us an ultimatum.

Growing up, I didn’t pay too much attention to my passion for writing but for some reason, writing kept finding me.

During high school, I was asked to become a columnist for Extra Magazine, a local weekly newspaper that spans a bunch of topics: from politics and events to sports and book launches. For a couple of years, I wrote and curated a page about chess, a rising sport in Italy at that time. As a player myself, I shared updates from local and international tournaments together with interviews and quizzes.

In more recent years, I’ve had the chance to write articles with the Innovation Forum and Nina Capital on topics I am passionate about.

Even if you’ve never thought about writing regularly, simply being open to the opportunities that come your way can make all the difference.

Writing often, without a routine

I write every week but I’ve never forced myself to sit down and write. I tried blocking time on my calendar to write but it just made it harder to stick to it and almost turned it into a chore.

Instead, when I’m reading something interesting or working on a completely different project, an idea sparks and I write it down. That’s my nudge to go back and explore it further…the excitement to see where that thought might lead me is all I need to find the time to sit and write.

This means that there are days I don’t write at all. Not even a quick note or a reminder. And that’s ok because sometimes forcing routines and habits is the easiest way to lose the joy of doing something.

Coming up with things to write about

Everybody knows that writing, just like teaching, helps you clarify your thoughts.

❝

If you want to master something, teach it. The more you teach, the better you learn. Teaching is a powerful tool to learning.

Richard Feynman

But what's less talked about is that it also forces you to regularly consume content and think about what you've read. In other words, it’s a powerful way to process that information, instead of letting it fade soon after consuming it.

I come up with many ideas every day. Many of them are related to what I consume: I’m subscribed to 40+ newsletters from people I admire, I listen to one podcast a day while training or commuting and my Kindle always has 2 to 3 books I’m currently reading.

In the end, it’s a virtuous cycle: the more you read, the more you write, and the more things you want to write about.

In addition to this newsletter, I have written hundreds of pages of notes and thoughts. I store most of them in Obsidian, a free writing app that makes it easy to connect ideas and revisit notes you wrote a long time back. Almost all of them won’t ever be published and that’s ok.

If you’re looking for something that can help you be a better writer, this is my secret weapon to elaborate on ideas and come up with new ones.

My Obsidian Valut with all my notes linked to each other

My notes are about the most diverse topics because I believe every topic is worth talking about if you are brave enough to go deep and explore the nuances behind it.

Having a place to store ideas, jot down comments on things you come across and save interesting resources is the easiest way to let patterns emerge, even on topics you might not initially consider worthwhile.

Publishing regularly

I’m a recovering perfectionist so sharing an article even when I don’t think it’s ready is still not easy.

But publishing often is important because it forces me to share the best of what I have at that moment. If I could only write for myself, I would leave many pieces incomplete without the urge to go deep or learn more about a topic. The pressure of being judged works wonders in forcing me to do a better job.

Another reason that pushes me to publish regularly is that I enjoy being useful.

Instead of keeping some thoughts or a piece of work to myself, I’d rather share it with others and give it a life of its own where it could help people now and in the future.

I get excited every time I get a reply to one of my posts because that allows me to connect with interesting people who follow my work. I love getting feedback on my ideas, especially the most controversial ones and answering questions.

Exploring opposite perspectives

The more I write about a topic, for example how STEM professionals can find fulfilling roles in startups, the more I feel I’m only telling one side of the story and there are people out there for whom this would be terrible advice.

Going deep into a topic gives me more perspective and that’s why sometimes I decide to spend time trying to understand the opposite point of view. That’s how last week’s article In Defense of a Boring Job came about.

Writing is an evergreen skill

Most of us don’t know what our jobs will look like in a few years, let alone a few decades. Some of the things we learned when we started working are already getting obsolete or automated.

But I believe some skills will always be valuable, no matter how big this AI thing gets. Writing is one of these.

Being a better communicator makes you a better thinker and this is something nobody can ever take away from you.

So no matter if you consider yourself a writer or not, I hope you’ll give it a try.

If you enjoyed this issue, share it with someone who wants to write more!

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