I love to write because writing helps me think through my ideas. As most of us intuitively understand, our inner thoughts and ideas demand to be expressed. But how to express them in a way that can actually be understood? People are expressing themselves constantly—on social media, in YouTube comments, in online customer ratings, through poetry, personal blogs, and even family newsletters.

Good writing should arrest the reader’s monkey-mind, drawing its attention and focus not through clever schemes or rhetorical devices alone, but through the archetypal power of Beauty. Again, I do not mean merely beautiful words, although they are important, but the beauty and poignancy of an idea expressed through excellent writing.

Writing has a purpose: to communicate. But communicate what, and how?

These things are not always known in advance. Good writing ultimately writes itself, and we are its tools: meat and bones with the ability to type. At least, this is how I see it. Some writers take pride in their literary work as though they themselves did the writing, but I believe this is a fallacy of the ego, robustly endorsed by our sycophantic culture of hero worship. Still, becoming a good writer does mean coming to the table every day and practicing the act of writing. The more one does this, the better the writing becomes.