Writing Tips and The Bad Batch
Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning into Tom’s Top 3, a weekly newsletter where I share the three things that tickled my fancy on any given week. This could include blog posts, books, podcasts, products, YouTube videos, you name it. I’ll include links and a short description about why I found something particularly interesting. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to share with a friend!
- How to Write Stuff No One Else Can
- Description
- In this blog post, Ethan Brooks describes the three advantages that one can have over a competitor: Resources, Behavioral, and Information. He prefers the latter as it is the only advantage that you can choose (unlike having money or being innately good at something), and it is less at risk of obsolescence due to AI. An informational advantage is best gained through people, specifically people behind the scenes who still have a large impact. These people may not be the most recognizable, but they may be able to provide greater context and are also much easier to contact. Ethan provides tactics for identifying these diamonds in the rough.
- Takeaway
- In the age of AI, access to differentiated information is at a premium, so leveraging the experience of others is the best way to rapidly learn and provide value.
- Favorite Quote
- “That’s the beauty of focusing on people – they have such rich context. A ten-minute chat can save you hours of research.”
- Description
- I Met 20 of The World’s Greatest Writers. Here’s What I Learned.
- Description
- I only discovered David Perell and his “How I Write” podcast recently, but I have been voraciously listening to his catalog of episodes since. It has been incredibly interesting for me, as it provides a sneak peak into the minds of some amazing creatives. Usually, we only get to see the final output, but this podcast peels back the curtain so that we can see their writing process, tactics, and tips for creating authentic and powerful writing. This particular episode is a good starting point for anyone, as it features snippets from interviews with: Tim Ferriss, Kevin Kelly, The Cultural Tutor, Marc Andreessen, Riva Tez, Steven Pressfield, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, and Ava Huang. Interspersed, David also provides his personal reflections and takeaways from each of these conversation. Definitely worth a listen.
- Takeaways
- Competitive Advantage:
- There are multiple ways of capturing a competitive advantage. Information through people may be one way, as we saw with Ethan Brooks’ article, but these interviews surfaced a few other methods:
- Tim Ferriss: focus on quality, not volume
- Kevin Kelly: be the only, not the best
- Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok: intrinsic interest in the topic, aligning your head, heart, and wallet
- There are multiple ways of capturing a competitive advantage. Information through people may be one way, as we saw with Ethan Brooks’ article, but these interviews surfaced a few other methods:
- Writing Well
- Good = Quality + Distinctiveness
- To write well is to write something that is surprising and memorable or distills something already said with a level of clarity not before seen
- Competitive Advantage:
- Description
- Bad Batch Season 3 Trailer – “Vader”
- Description
- If you don’t know already, I am a huge Star Wars fan. Bad Batch has somewhat flown under the radar relative to live action shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor, but it’s plot provides some of the “connective tissue” that bridges the gap between the events in Revenge of the Sith and the rebellion, while also bringing back some wonderful characters from The Clone Wars. The third and final season drops later this month, and I couldn’t be more excited to see the conclusion of Clone Force 99’s story. Watch this video for a catch-me-up on what happened in seasons 1-2 and some thoughts on season 3 possibilities.
- Takeaway
- Watch Season 3 🙂
- Description