The Writer's Content-First Rule
Having something worth saying matters infinitely more than saying it well
The biggest mistake writers make is focusing on technical writing skill when the truly scarce resource is having something interesting and compelling to say. A biography written by someone with a seventh-grade education about a fascinating subject beats a beautifully written piece with nothing to say. The solution: live interesting lives, do deep research, bring something to the table that nobody else can, and write with vulnerable honesty—especially about the things you are afraid to say.
- Having something interesting to say is far more scarce and valuable than the ability to say it well
- Writers live interesting lives—experience the world first, write about it second
- Figure out exactly what you plan to say and who you are saying it for BEFORE you start writing
- Write the thing you do not want anyone to know about yourself—that is where connection lives
- The best marketing decision for a product is having a really good product—the same applies to writing
- Live and experience before writingGo do interesting things, have real experiences, develop perspective. You cannot communicate intangibles about life and relationships if you have not lived them.Pro tipGeorge Plimpton pioneered participatory journalism—becoming a football player, joining a circus, boxing Archie Moore—then writing about it
- Do the research before you writeUse note cards to organize research. Fully outline and sketch out what you want to say before writing a single word. The writing is the easy part—the research and finding something new to bring to the table is what is special.Pro tipHoliday uses physical note cards to organize all research before writing—the writing comes last
- Find what only you can bringFocus your energy on the stories, perspectives, or insights that nobody else could bring. This is what makes your writing unique and valuable—not your sentence construction.
- Write with vulnerable honestyFollow James Altucher's rule: write about the thing you are most afraid to say. This creates a vulnerable, authentic voice that people relate to because nobody else is saying these things.Pro tipYour job as a writer is to touch something inside the audience—you cannot do that if you are lying to yourselfWarningSometimes this gets you in trouble, but most of the time it creates genuine connection
Altucher writes about whatever he is most afraid to say—his financial failures, his struggles, his embarrassing moments. He deliberately chooses the topics that make him most uncomfortable.
McPhee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker staff writer, writes entire books on oranges, one tennis match, or wooden canoes. The subjects should not be fascinating, but readers hang on every word because his deep research and lived experience make anything compelling.
Ryan Holiday received this writing advice through Tucker Max: 'Writers live interesting lives.' Holiday applied this by writing from his real experiences in marketing (Trust Me I'm Lying), from deep research into stoicism (The Obstacle Is the Way), and from living in high-pressure environments. James Altucher's rule—write about the thing you are most afraid to say—reinforced that authenticity and vulnerability create the connection that technical skill alone cannot.