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Maria Popova: Picture by Elizabeth Lippman for the New York Times

Maria Popova: Picture by Elizabeth Lippman for the New York Times

On Writing, from the masters

March 21, 2014
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I can't help but share this link because it contains thoughts and tips on writing from 70 masters of the art and craft. It was compiled by Maria Popova of Brainpickings.

If you enjoy this compilation and the other superbly curated material she puts up, please consider making her a small payment to support what she does. And while there, do take a look at  her essay 7 things I learned in 7 years of reading, writing and living. My favorite there is Allow yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind:  Cultivate that capacity for “negative capability.” We live in a culture where one of the greatest social disgraces is not having an opinion, so we often form our “opinions” based on superficial impressions or the borrowed ideas of others, without investing the time and thought that cultivating true conviction necessitates. We then go around asserting these donned opinions and clinging to them as anchors to our own reality. It’s enormously disorienting to simply say, “I don’t know.” But it’s infinitely more rewarding to understand than to be right — even if that means changing your mind about a topic, an ideology, or, above all, yourself.

Tags: Writing, Living, Happiness
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about me

I am a co-founder at Founding Fuel, a media and learning platform and co-author of The Aadhaar Effect: Why The World’s Largest Identity Project Matters.

The Polestar Award and Madhu Valluri Awards back my work up.

I am a columnist at Hindustan Times as well. My bylines have appeared at places such as Shaastra from IIT Madras and peer-reviewed journals like ACM that computing professionals look up to.

In earlier assignments, I worked as Managing Editor to set up the India edition of Forbes and as National Business Editor at Times of India.

Then there are my ‘teach- writing’ gigs which is much fun. Doing that with undergrads at St Xaviers College, Mumbai that is one bucket which offers much joy. And then there’s coaching thought leaders in the C-Suite that’s another bucket and is an altogether different ball game. It’s both challenging and sobering.

If you’ve wrapped your head around the idea that writing is a lifeskill, connect with me.


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