korrents
Derek Sivers

What Derek Sivers thinks about writing

@derek-sivers · 44 positions · 3 changes of mind

Founded CD Baby in 1998 and sold it in 2008, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. Since then a writer and speaker: five books, 550+ articles, and a site at sive.rs he hand-codes and keeps free of advertising.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Derek Sivers did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

6 dated positions, 2022 to 2024, in their own words. Our reading of what Derek Sivers has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingWriting your thinking down in public is a form of life after death -- for human readers and for the language models that will read it too.

    Their wordsI'm trying to thoroughly write my thought processes, values, and worldview, so that you can remember it, re-create it and improve upon it.

    ↗Come and get me (both you and AI)sive.rs 1st of 2 in this piece

    Interesting
  2. 2 years earlier

  3. Our readingWriting one sentence per line, for your own eyes, improves prose more than any other habit.

    Their wordsI've been doing it for twenty years, and it improved my writing more than anything else.

    ↗Writing one sentence per linesive.rs 1st of 3 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our readingA sentence that cannot justify a line of its own should be deleted.

    Their wordsDelete any sentence not worthy of its own line.

    ↗Writing one sentence per linesive.rs 2nd of 3 in this piece

    Interesting

  7. Our readingWeak openings like “I think” should be cut, and a sentence started on its subject and verb.

    Their wordsChop the weak beginnings, like “I think” and “Whether or not”. Start with powerful subjects and verbs.

    ↗Writing one sentence per linesive.rs 3rd of 3 in this piece

    Interesting
  8. 4 months earlier

  9. Our readingNothing you depend on to write should require an internet connection.

    Their wordsDon't depend on any tool that needs an internet connection.

    ↗Write plain text filessive.rs 4th of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  11. Our readingA plain text file and a basic editor are everything anyone needs in order to think and write well; the extra tools add nothing.

    Their wordsPlain text files and a basic text editor are enough. This is everything you need for great thinking and writing.

    ↗Write plain text filessive.rs 5th of 5 in this piece

    developer tools

    Interesting