Incremental Writing

A process for long form writing where you start writing independent units of ideas/topics (similar to ‘atomic notes’ in Zettelkasten) and synthesize them in a separate step. This allows you to focus on the most interesting and important things first rather than writing linearly.

See also:

  • Slow Burns Prevent Blank Page Anxiety

    It’s easy to be intimidated or anxious when doing something big all at once like writing an essay. Turning a large project into a ‘slow burn’ helps remove that worry—it’s easier to do small parts over a longer amount of time across several projects than in one big effort in a short amount of time sequentially.

  • Temporary Intellectual Home

    Writing an essay is like living in a temporary intellectual home for awhile. It means you are spending time with the subject, getting to know it’s details, nuance, and depth. It’s the opposite of being an intellectual tourist with a passing understanding.