David Perell curates the best moments from his How I Write podcast into one compilation. Nine guests. 171 combined years of writing experience. The single best insight from each.
The Feel-Good Productivity author on writing as a guide not a guru, the investing video that came from a text to a friend, and why the score takes care of itself.
The Bookbear Express writer on writing as consciousness, the paradox of difficult emotions, excavating past cliche, and why authenticity beats polish every time.
The former Stripe and Figma operator on how internal writing culture becomes a company superpower, why papertrails beat meetings, and the documentation practices behind the best tech companies.
The Diff newsletter writer on producing half a million words a year, writing for hedge fund managers, cross-disciplinary metaphors, and why you should sell harder than feels comfortable.
The Social Capital founder on demarcating fact from opinion, why Buffett's annual letters are master classes, writing as catharsis, and the acquisition-activation-engagement-virality framework applied to prose.
The a16z general partner on blogging as learning, why a decent portion of your posts should be ignored or ridiculed, the idea maze, and how fifteen years of public writing shaped a $7 billion fund.
The CD Baby founder on cutting 1,200 pages down to 112, writing one sentence per line, and why compressing knowledge into directives is the most valuable and least practiced form of writing.
The Oaktree Capital co-founder on writing memos for 35 years, why clarity is the highest form of intelligence, and how a pile of scraps becomes a memo Warren Buffett reads first.
The co-founder of Wired on writing to discover what you think, the two-question test for every sentence, why he told writers to amaze him, and the reluctant writer who became an aphorist.
The #1 business newsletter writer on Substack shares how he went from Airbnb PM to full-time writer, why each post takes 10 to 100 hours, and the two articles that drove half his growth.
The a16z co-founder on writing in a rage, inventing the tweetstorm, why the essay never dies, and how the best writing sounds exactly like the writer talks.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck author on writing like you talk, the David Foster Wallace revelation, ghostwriting Will Smith's memoir, and why the strongest ideas are the easiest to write.
The Morgan Stanley research director on why writing is thinking, the decision journal as a writing practice, multidisciplinary reading, and how teaching reveals what you actually understand.
The Game author on writing with uncommon honesty, the three-draft method, ghostwriting for rock stars, and why the cardinal sin of writing is being boring.
The Not Boring founder on writing 10,000-word essays, making business strategy fun, choosing authenticity over growth hacks, and why optimism actually shapes reality.
The Y Combinator co-founder on writing usefully, writing simply, writing like you talk, and why the best essays tell people something true and important that they didn't already know.
The Pathless Path author on writing for self-discovery, turning down a six-figure publishing deal, and why the best writing attracts the right readers instead of the most readers.
After two years of interviewing world-class writers for the How I Write podcast, David Perell shares the patterns he found: what great writers have in common, and what surprised him most.
After interviewing 40+ writers in a year, David Perell distills the ten lessons that changed how he thinks about writing, wonder, ambition, and the industrialization of thought.
The writer and intellectual on writing as independent thinking, questioning dogma, deep reading, and why the unoptimized life produces the best prose.
The Curiosity Chronicle author on forced constraints that breed creativity, writing from conversation, the excavation metaphor, and why the sentences that impact people are never the ones you think.
The a16z podcast host and Doing Content Right author on SEO-driven writing, distribution as a discipline, personal monopolies, and why the best content is a byproduct of solving problems.
The author of Where Good Ideas Come From on slow hunches, the spark file, writing at the speed of thought, and why AI is the best research partner a writer has ever had.
The Building a Second Brain author on progressive summarization, testing every idea publicly before printing it, why the book almost broke him, and the quantity-quality switch.
The 4-Hour Workweek author on two crappy pages a day, writing like you're two glasses of wine in with friends, and why you should do something interesting before you write about it.
The Wait But Why creator on spending 160 hours researching a single post, why stick figures beat fancy graphics, and how the Instant Gratification Monkey runs your writing life.
The 23rd and 24th US Poets Laureate on accessibility, place, the body, and why a few lines can hold a whole lifetime. Ada Limón and Joy Harjo on what makes a poem work.
The Clarke Award-winning sci-fi author on the stone-in-the-pool method, why magic needs a price, and how to write absurdly well.
Three brothers with five billion Spotify streams on why embarrassment is the best creative compass, why albums are soundtracks to live shows, and why writing a million bad songs is the only path to a good one.
The School of Life founder on writing as therapy, thinking in fragments, and why honesty beats craft every time.
The entrepreneur who sold a million books explains his writing system: distraction-free caves, usefulness as the only metric, and why structure matters more than talent.
The author of A Gentleman in Moscow on mastering craft through repetition, designing stories for years before writing, and why research should follow imagination.
The former teacher known as Ms. Fab on why school kills good writing, what happens when you remove grades and rules from the process, and why writing is the most undertaught skill in education.
The surgeon and New Yorker writer on revision as transformation, finding stories in confusion, and why the well dries up if you stop doing the work.
The Stratechery founder on writing daily, building a subscription newsletter, finding your analytical framework, and why the second article someone reads is the most important one.
The directors of Train Dreams on adapting Denis Johnson's novella for the screen, why dialogue is a last resort, and why the ending you planned is never the ending you need.
Tim Mackie and Jon Collins built a YouTube channel with over 500 million views by treating ancient texts as sophisticated literature. Their method: pair a scholar with a curious student, animate the conversation, and trust the audience to wrestle with complexity.
The author of Red Notice on page-turner structure, the mini-book method, sensory specificity, and why 40% of inspiration comes from the shower.
The Humans of New York creator on getting strangers to open up, finding stories in ordinary people, the power of listening, and editing for emotional impact.
Sheehan Quirke went from flipping burgers to 1.7 million followers by writing about architecture, art, and history. His secret: two kinds of writing, the courage to ignore algorithms, and a refusal to read anything written in the last fifty years.
Dan Wang writes one annual letter about China that Silicon Valley executives, policy wonks, and journalists treat as required reading. His method: observe all year, write in a panic for ten days, and construct entire essays around single beautiful sentences.
Dana Gioia is a poet, critic, and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. His essay 'Can Poetry Matter?' changed the conversation about poetry in America. Here is his advice on reading, revision, memorization, and why every writer needs poetry.
The author of Drive and When on treating writing as engineering, making a promise to the reader, and why interdisciplinary generalists write the best non-fiction.
The author of Killers of the Flower Moon on finding stories in footnotes, building 200-page outlines for 3,000-word chapters, and why you must visit the places you write about.
David Whyte is a poet and philosopher who brings poetry into corporate boardrooms and believes all good writing begins at the frontier between what you know and what you don't. Here is his advice on writing as conversation, courage, and paying fierce attention.
The director of Airplane! and Naked Gun on why explaining kills jokes, the straight man principle, and the discipline hiding inside the zaniest comedies ever made.
The author of 140 novels and 500 million books sold on his four laws of writing, why he drafts each page 10-20 times before moving on, and why aesthetic plainness is destroying our souls.
The Oxford historian on writing with precision, embracing uncertainty, and why "yes, but" is the most important phrase in non-fiction.
The Booker-longlisted novelist on letting love guide fiction, writing slightly drunk on uncertainty, and why your first loyalty is always to the story.
The seven-time Oscar nominee on starting from page one every day, writing with erosion, and why subtext separates good writing from great writing.
The New York Times columnist on why AI is dangerous for writers, why writing is selling not manufacturing, and why reading a RAND report for an hour beats having AI summarize it.
Fareed Zakaria has spent decades writing columns, books, and hosting CNN. His core advice for non-fiction writers: every piece must tell the reader something they do not already know. Here are his key principles from the How I Write podcast and interviews.
The Marketing Examples founder on visualization, falsifiability, and uniqueness - three tests that separate great copy from forgettable filler.
The Escaping Flatland author on his five-step writing process, sucking reality into prose, writing from the body, and why the best ideas need a year before you write about them.
The poet and Zen teacher on clearing the mind to see what is actually there, why every word must earn its place, and sitting with uncertainty as creative fuel.
Why your work disappoints you, why that is a good sign, and how volume - not talent - closes the gap between your taste and your ability.
The Basecamp co-founder on writing as a business weapon, the power of short sentences, contrarian thinking, and why he hires the best writer in the room.
The author of Night Watch on following sentences into the material, why writing is practicing for death, and the ten-year apprenticeship behind a Pulitzer.
The comedian on his two-self writing system, the chain method, why every word must earn its place, and why there is no such thing as writer's block.
The author of The Founders and A Mind at Play on using AI as a sharp knife, blending research with writing, and why the publishing industry needs to catch up.
The Stolen Focus and Lost Connections author on interviewing hundreds of people per book, earning insights with stories, and why clarity is the ultimate style.
The Oxford mathematician on why words come from minds, why AI simulates but never thinks, and why the best writing requires you to ask how you could be misunderstood.
The YouTube journalist on visual-first storytelling, writing scripts after finding images, and why audiences are smarter than you think.
The CEO of Macmillan Publishers explains how books actually get acquired, what publishers look for, and whether self-publishing or traditional publishing is right for you.
The author of The Corrections and Freedom on starting with a comic problem, rewriting 200 words for four hours, and why shame has no technical solution.
The former head of comms at Substack on why the old PR playbook is dead, how to write a crisis response, and why the best corporate writing sounds like a person.
The Outliers author on why writing is an oven not a blueprint, why you should make the reader wait, and why lowering the bar is the first step.
Mark Forsyth wrote The Elements of Eloquence and made classical rhetoric accessible and entertaining. Here are the specific rhetorical devices, formulas, and techniques that make writing stick in the reader's mind.
Michael Connelly sold 80 million books and spent 14 years as a crime reporter before writing fiction. His core principle: character above all else. Here are the writing lessons from the creator of Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller.
David Perell's writing coach on the architecture of great essays, scoring writing objectively, paragraph hooks and punchlines, and why first drafts should ignore all rules.
Twenty-six years in Hollywood writers rooms for King of the Hill, Just Shoot Me, Maron, and Becker. Michael Jamin on why story matters more than jokes, why strong attitudes are funny, and why you should stop polishing your first script.
The author of Tuesdays with Morrie on staying tethered to your theme, writing for the grandmother in North Carolina, emotional truth over statistics, and why every story needs a cord.
The author of The Psychology of Money on clarity, storytelling, one-sentence-at-a-time composing, and why originality is overrated.
The author of Crypto Confidential on the taste gap, why too much editing removes your style, and the brutal transition from internet writing to books.
The Sandman and American Gods author on finishing what you start, the power of doing nothing, and why confidence lets you break any rule.
Nick Bilton wrote Hatching Twitter and American Kingpin, directed a Netflix docuseries, and spent years at the New York Times and Vanity Fair. Here is his advice on narrative nonfiction, building characters, and writing stories that read like movies.
Ocean Vuong argues that 80% of writing is looking, not typing. His advice on estrangement, etymology, and resisting homogenization offers a framework for writing sentences the species has never encountered.
The New Yorker staff writer on narrative nonfiction, interviewing subjects, hiding exposition, and why "cinematic" journalism is lazy.
The author of Tinkers on writing a thousand pages to keep 150, why precision creates beauty instead of killing it, and why you should never tell the reader what to think.
The Outlive author on writing a science book for a general audience, killing your babies, the collaboration with Bill Gifford, and why your conclusion should demand action.
The Overstory author on dictating in the dark, the three kinds of drama, and why the best novels fuse science with the spirit.
The author of Troubled on earning trust through unflattering truths, writing matter-of-factly about trauma, and why first drafts are private.
The author of The 48 Laws of Power on his note card system, why each book starts from zero, and the research method behind five bestsellers.
A comedian and comedy writer on why surprise is the engine of humor, brevity kills in both directions, and specificity is always funnier than generality.
The Cambridge fellow and nature writer on language precision, the power of prepositions, writing speed and stillness, and why you should never try to capture nature.
The four-time Grammy winner on why songwriting starts with being awake, why grief is fertile soil, and why you should know the rules before you break them.
The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy author on his famous note card system, writing 2,000 words by noon, and why the craft is inseparable from the life.
The OpenAI founder on why writing clarifies thinking, why spiral notebooks beat apps, and what kind of writing survives AI.
The Levels CEO on why writing is thought, why memos beat meetings, and why the median tech worker never gets 30 minutes of uninterrupted time.
The Hustle co-founder on why copywriting is the number one money-making skill, the Benjamin Franklin method, and Hemingway-style simplicity.
The NYU professor and No Mercy / No Malice author on fearless writing, the power of charts, weekly publishing, and why storytelling is the one skill he would give his sons.
The My First Million co-host on why a story is not a sequence of events, the voice message test, and building a binge bank.
The legendary graphic designer on why beauty is function, why sabbaticals produce your best work, and why honest people are always interesting. Stefan Sagmeister on designing album covers for Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, and your next sentence.
The most-read book on writing craft, distilled: King on adverbs, daily word counts, first drafts, and why the door must be closed before it opens.
The co-creator of Modern Family on writing fast, building characters that write themselves, earning emotional moments, and why comedy starts with conflict.
The Harvard psycholinguist on the biggest threat to clear writing, why children write better than professors, and what large language models get wrong about prose.
Steven Pressfield wrote The War of Art, Gates of Fire, and The Legend of Bagger Vance. His core message: Resistance is the enemy. Turn pro, sit down, and write every single day.
The New Yorker writer on her index card system, why opening lines must create cognitive disruption, and the liberating power of a daily word quota.
Ted Gioia has spent 50 years reading the classics, built the Honest Broker into one of the biggest Substacks in the world, and diagnosed a cultural crisis driven by dopamine and distraction. Here is his advice on writing, reading, and resisting the algorithm.
The I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell author on radical honesty, the vomit draft, writing from scars not wounds, and why everyone has a memoir in them.
The Marginal Revolution blogger on preserving your weird voice, writing for AI summarization, and why generic writing is dead.
The Dean of UT Austin Law School on choosing Saxon over Latin, ending with short words, and why repetition is not redundancy but rhetoric.
The author of The Science of Storytelling on sacred flaws, theories of control, and why the brain is wired for character, not plot.
Wright Thompson is widely considered the best longform sports writer alive. Here are his principles on scenes, structure, and the "hammer" that makes a story land.
The best writing advice from four essential books on craft, distilled into 30 short rules. No filler. Each tip earns its place.
Every AI writing tool categorized by type - from chatbots to document editors to grammar checkers. A comprehensive reference for choosing the right tool for how you actually write.
Most students use AI writing tools wrong. The ethical line is simple: generating essays is cheating, editing your own writing is a legitimate tool. Here is what actually works.
The AI writing tool market splits into two categories that do completely different things. Most people pick the wrong one. Here is how to tell them apart.
Apple Notes is great for quick drafts. But copy-pasting into Substack breaks headers, lists, links, and images every single time. Here is what goes wrong and how to fix it.
Writing is not just communication. It is thinking made visible. Bad writing reveals fuzzy thinking. AI makes this worse by letting you skip the thinking step entirely.
An honest look at the top AI blog post generators - Jasper, Copy.ai, Writesonic, Rytr - their actual limitations, and why writing your own content with AI editing produces better results than generating from scratch.
An honest roundup of AI citation tools - Zotero, Perplexity, NotebookLM, Jenni AI, Semantic Scholar, and Scite. Which ones actually find real sources, and which ones fabricate citations.
AI humanizers exist because people generate entire texts with AI and then scramble to disguise the output. There is a better approach: write yourself and use AI to edit.
An honest, phase-by-phase guide to the AI tools that actually help with academic research. Covers finding sources, reading and synthesizing, organizing references, writing, and the tools you should avoid.
Most AI tools choke on long documents. ChatGPT loses context. Grammarly caps AI at 1,000 words. Here are the tools that actually handle manuscripts, theses, and reports.
Substack has no built-in AI. Newsletter writers who want AI help need external tools that integrate into a real writing environment and export cleanly. Here are the six best options in 2026.
Writing a 50,000+ word thesis is a unique challenge. You need research synthesis, long-document editing, citation management, and AI that does not hallucinate your sources. Here are the tools that actually work for each phase.
Bloggers need more than grammar checks or AI-generated filler. They need tools that help them draft, edit, and keep their voice consistent across every post. Here are the six best AI writing tools for bloggers and newsletter writers in 2026.
ESL writers face unique challenges with AI tools - from false plagiarism flags to voice-flattening corrections. Here are the best tools that fix real errors without erasing your voice.
Journalists need research, drafting, and editing in one workflow. The best AI tools for reporters treat AI as an editor, not a ghostwriter. Here is what works in a real newsroom.
Technical writers already work in markdown. 55% now use AI regularly. Here are the tools that actually work for precise documentation, API guides, and technical content.
Ten books on writing that hold up in the AI age - covering fiction, nonfiction, and craft. One paragraph per book with why it still matters when machines can generate prose.
Frase promises SEO content optimization, but the costs add up and the AI writing is generic. Here are the best alternatives for content writers who want better tools without the hidden fees.
You do not need to pay for AI writing tools. Many of the best have genuinely useful free tiers. But free comes with limits. Here is what you actually get and where each tool hits a wall.
Lex.page is a minimalist AI writing editor, but off-target suggestions and slow development have writers looking for better options. Here are the best Lex alternatives in 2026.
Perplexity is a great research tool, but it is not a writing tool. Here are six alternatives that combine research with actual writing workflows.
Rytr runs on an outdated AI model, produces weak long-form content, and was banned by the FTC for facilitating fake reviews. Here are six better alternatives for writers who want quality over quantity.
Writesonic keeps raising prices and locking features behind higher tiers. Here are the best alternatives for content writers who want reliable AI writing tools without credit limits and surprise paywalls.
Most serious Substack writers draft outside Substack and paste in. Here is what works, what breaks, and the best apps for each workflow.
A definitive guide to building the ideal writing workflow in 2026. The right tool for each phase: research, drafting, editing, grammar, and publishing.
The key principles from Anne Lamott's beloved guide to writing - shitty first drafts, short assignments, and why perfectionism is the enemy. Plus how her advice maps perfectly to AI-assisted editing.
AI can handle line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. It cannot replace developmental editing, voice development, or the relationship between writer and editor. Here is what the research says about where the line falls.
At least 9 separate tools exist just to fix one problem: AI text does not paste cleanly into other apps. That is not a formatting problem. That is a workflow problem.
A technical deep dive into why pasting ChatGPT output into Google Docs destroys your formatting - gray backgrounds, broken lists, literal asterisks - and the workarounds that actually help.
Substack does not support markdown. ChatGPT outputs markdown. The workarounds are absurd. The real fix is a markdown editor with AI built in that exports clean HTML.
WordPress powers 43% of the web. Millions of bloggers use ChatGPT for content. But pasting ChatGPT output into WordPress mangles your formatting every time. Here is the fix.
For years, AI writing meant copying text into ChatGPT and pasting rewrites back. Entire tools exist just to fix the paste. That era is ending. The next generation puts AI inside the editor.
The most important creative writing skills only come from being human. Noticing, specificity, emotional truth, vulnerability, and voice. AI can polish your prose but it cannot teach you to see.
David Perell built Write of Passage into the most popular online writing course in the world. Here are the principles behind his approach to writing, creativity, and publishing online.
The most famous writing guide is 100 years old. Some rules are timeless. Some are outdated. And AI changes the equation entirely.
Ghost and Substack are the two best newsletter platforms. Ghost wins on customization, markdown, and data ownership. Substack wins on discovery and network effects. Here is how to choose.
Google Docs is the most popular place to draft newsletter posts. But copying to Substack breaks images, footnotes, tables, and spacing. Here is what survives, what breaks, and the real fix.
Google Docs to WordPress paste is notoriously broken. WordPress adds extra line breaks, Google Docs injects hidden span and font tags, and the block editor makes it worse. Here are the workarounds and the real fix.
The freelance writing landscape has shifted. AI floods the low end, premiums rise for quality human voice, and the writers who thrive use AI as an editor to deliver better work faster.
AI detection tools have up to 50% false positive rates, disproportionately flag ESL students, and push writers to deliberately write worse. The real solution is tools that keep humans in control.
Ten practical ways to become a better writer - drawn from Orwell, Klinkenborg, Zinsser, and Lamott - and how AI accelerates improvement when used as a learning tool, not a crutch.
Paraphrasing tools like QuillBot encourage patchwriting, a form of plagiarism. The real skill is understanding a source well enough to explain it yourself. Here is how to do it right.
Most AI proofreading guides are just grammar checker ads. Real proofreading with AI goes beyond spelling - it catches unclear arguments, redundant paragraphs, weak openings, and passive constructions. The key is using a tool that shows you what it changed.
Most people rewrite essays by pasting into ChatGPT and getting a complete rewrite back. This is wrong. You lose your voice, can not see what changed, and risk AI detection. Here is the right way.
The complete self-publishing pipeline from first draft to distribution. AI helps at specific stages - editing, cover concepts, formatting - but cannot replace the writing. Here is what works at each step.
AI can help with brainstorming, worldbuilding, and editing fiction, but it cannot replace voice, subtext, or emotional truth. Here is a practical workflow for using AI to write better stories without losing what makes them yours.
AI can help you write a book, but not by generating it. Research shows the best results come from drafting first, then using AI to edit. Here is the workflow that actually works.
When you need a prologue, what types work, and how to avoid the common mistakes that make readers skip straight to chapter one. Craft principles plus an AI editing angle.
Most AI blog post guides teach you to generate content. This one teaches you to write it yourself and use AI to edit. The result sounds human because it is human. Here is the workflow that works.
Your college essay must sound like you. AI-generated essays are generic and admissions officers can spot them. But AI can help you edit your own voice to be clearer and more compelling.
Hiring managers can spot AI-generated cover letters instantly. They all start the same way. Here is a better workflow: write your specific story first, then use AI to tighten it.
A practical guide to using AI for lab reports - which sections AI can improve, which sections you must write yourself, and the tools that actually help without crossing ethical lines.
A phase-by-phase guide to writing a literature review with AI - from finding sources to synthesizing themes to editing your final draft. Covers tools, methodology, and the mistakes that turn a review into a list of summaries.
Long-form writing is hard. AI can help with editing, consistency, and cutting bloat - but it cannot make structural decisions or build arguments for you. Here is a practical workflow for essays, articles, reports, and chapters.
Newsletter writers use AI for brainstorming but ignore the stages where it helps most: drafting, editing, and formatting. Here is the workflow that actually works - from research to Substack publish.
Personal statements for grad school, med school, and law school are the highest-stakes writing most people ever do. AI-generated statements get rejected. The right approach: write your story, then use AI to tighten prose without flattening voice.
AI-generated emails are obvious and impersonal. A better approach: write your own emails, then use AI to tighten them. Cut the jargon, use active voice, and respect the reader's time.
A phase-by-phase guide to using AI for research papers - from finding sources to editing your final draft - without crossing the ethical line. Tools, workflows, and the mistakes to avoid.
A practical guide to writing research proposals with AI - covering each phase from problem statement to budget, the tools that help, the places AI fails, and how to stay on the right side of academic ethics.
The best rough draft is a messy one. Anne Lamott calls it the "down draft." An MIT study proves it: writers who draft first then use AI show increased brain activity. Here is the practical method.
A tool-agnostic guide for screenwriters who want AI help with beat sheets, dialogue tightening, and scene trimming without losing their voice.
The copywriting principles that actually drive conversions - benefits over features, specificity, clear CTAs, cutting jargon - and where AI helps versus where it falls flat.
Lee Child sold 200 million books without ever planning a plot. His core principle: propulsion. Every sentence pulls the reader forward. Here are the writing lessons from one of the bestselling thriller authors alive.
Google Docs is familiar but proprietary. Markdown is portable, AI-native, and future-proof. Here is why the best option combines both: a markdown editor with WYSIWYG rendering.
Markdown is the most portable writing format. It works with Ghost natively, converts to HTML for Substack, exports to WordPress, and AI models understand it natively. Stop drafting in proprietary formats.
Many newsletter writers draft in Notion and publish on Substack. Text formatting mostly survives the copy-paste. Images never do. Here is what actually works.
The core principles from William Zinsser's classic guide to nonfiction writing - simplicity, clarity, cutting clutter, and why rewriting is the real work.
Substack is the best newsletter platform for distribution. But its editor is basic - no markdown, no AI, no version history, no offline drafts. Serious writers write elsewhere and publish on Substack. Here is how to set that up.
Top Substack writers do not just use Substack. They have a stack: research, drafting, AI editing, grammar, and publishing. Here is what the best newsletter writers actually use and why.
Nine principles from the legendary Esquire essayist behind "The Falling Man" and the Fred Rogers profile - on brutally honest first drafts, maniacal rewriting, and why the best stories live in forbidden territory.
Developers adopted inline AI editing years ago. They accept/reject changes, see diffs, and use AI as a collaborator. Writers are still copy-pasting from ChatGPT. The developer model works for prose too.
AI is bad at writing but surprisingly good at editing. The research explains why. The implication: stop using AI to generate text and start using it to edit yours.
AI will replace writers who only generate. It will not replace writers who think. The research on brain activity, creative evaluation, and writing volume explains why.
Eight writing exercises drawn from Klinkenborg, Orwell, Zinsser, and Lamott - each paired with AI-assisted feedback so you learn from every rep.
Most AI writing tools are just chatbots. A few actually edit your document directly, showing diffs you can accept or reject. Here is which ones do this and how they compare.
Coda combines docs, spreadsheets, and automations into one tool. That makes it powerful for ops teams and terrible for actual writing. Here are the best alternatives for writers.
Copy.ai is fine for quick marketing snippets, but content writers need more. Here are the best alternatives for writers who work in long-form content, not just ad copy.
Craft is beautiful but Apple-only, expensive, and its AI falls short. Here are the best alternatives for writers who want better AI, cross-platform access, or both.
Google Docs was built for collaboration, not writing. Here are the best alternatives for writers who want AI that actually understands their text.
Grammarly is the biggest name in writing tools, but it flattens your voice, flags its own suggestions as errors, and charges you $30/month for the privilege. Here are the best alternatives for writers who want real AI editing.
Hemingway Editor highlights problems but won't fix them. Here are the best alternatives that actually use AI to rewrite, not just underline.
iA Writer is a beautiful, minimal markdown editor. But at $50 per platform with no AI and no collaboration, writers are looking for alternatives. Here are the best options.
Jasper costs $708+/year and is built for marketing teams. Here are the best alternatives for writers who need a general-purpose AI writing tool.
Jenni AI promises to be your academic writing assistant, but fabricated citations and generic output have writers looking elsewhere. Here are the best alternatives for long-form writing.
Notion is a great workspace tool, but it gets in the way of actual writing. Here are the best alternatives for writers who need a tool built for writing, not a tool that also happens to let you write.
NovelAI pioneered AI fiction writing with Lorebook and client-side encryption. But its prose quality has plateaued and the learning curve is steep. Here are the best alternatives for fiction writers in 2026.
Obsidian is powerful but makes you work for it. Here are the best alternatives for writers who want markdown, AI, and a tool that works out of the box.
ProWritingAid offers deep writing reports, but it chokes on long documents and overwhelms you with data. Here are the best alternatives for writers who want AI editing that actually works.
QuillBot is a paraphrasing tool with a 125-word free limit, robotic output, and aggressive upselling. Here are six better alternatives for writers who want real editing help.
Scrivener is powerful but dated. Here are six alternatives for writers who want modern design, AI assistance, or fewer sync headaches.
Sudowrite is built for fiction, but many writers need a tool that handles both fiction and non-fiction. Here are the best alternatives for writers who want more flexibility.
Ulysses costs $50/year, locks you into Apple, and stores files in a proprietary format. Here are six alternatives that give you more for less.
Wordtune only rewrites one sentence at a time and caps free users at 10 rewrites per day. Here are better alternatives that work on full paragraphs and documents.
Developers got Cursor - an AI code editor with inline diffs, accept/reject, and full codebase context. Writers are still copy-pasting between ChatGPT and Google Docs. The "Cursor for writing" concept is what writers actually need.
The copy-paste loop between ChatGPT and your editor is broken. Here's why the best AI writing experience looks more like Cursor than a chatbot.
Research shows AI-assisted writers produce more words, smaller vocabularies, and lower brain activity. Here's why - and how to use AI without losing your craft.
George Orwell diagnosed exactly what's wrong with AI writing in 1946. His 6 rules from "Politics and the English Language" are the best framework for evaluating and improving AI output.
Millions of writers copy text between ChatGPT and Google Docs every day. The formatting breaks every time. The real fix is not a better paste tool - it is an editor where AI edits your document directly.
Type.ai and Athens are both document editors with built-in AI. They represent the next generation of writing tools. Here is how they compare on the things that matter.
Every major AI model thinks in markdown. So why do most writing tools store your work in formats AI can't read? The case for markdown as the foundation of AI-native editors.
A growing number of writers use Cursor and VS Code for prose. This sounds crazy until you understand why. But code editors are built for code, not writing. Here is what writers actually need.
A practical comparison of AI writing tools - from Jasper to Claude to NotebookLM - and why the copy-paste workflow between ChatGPT and Google Docs is finally ending.
Every principle from Verlyn Klinkenborg's radical guide to writing - distilled into the short, clear format the book itself advocates for.
