Minimalist
An essay has to tell people something they don't already know.
Opening premise: novelty is required.
Essay craft
Deconstructed Swiss Style
Framework
The reasons readers don't already know are: (a) not important, (b) they're obtuse, or (c) they're inexperienced.
Why ignorance persists; categorize.
Bold Modern
If you're writing for smart people about important things, you're writing for the young.
Audience insight
Japanese Minimalism
An essay is something you write to figure something out.
Writing as thinking in public.
Futuristic Tech
There's a continuum of surprise.
From mindshifts to naming the obvious.
Surprise ranges from seismic to subtle.
Bauhaus
The impact of an essay is how much it changes readers' thinking multiplied by the importance of the topic.
\[Impact = \Delta Thinking \times TopicImportance\]
Effect = change × importance.
Constructivism
With younger readers the tradeoff shifts. There's more room to change their thinking.
Why important topics pay off with youth.
Cyberpunk
It's more like a kind of gravitational field that writers work in.
Invisible forces shape choices.
Elegant Vintage
A really good essayist will inevitably draw the topic into deeper waters.
Skill turns trivial into timeless.
Memphis
Method
The way I usually decide what to write about is by following curiosity.
Let curiosity set the agenda.
ProcessClean Editorial
I'm not trying to surprise readers of any particular age; I'm trying to surprise myself.
Orientation: write to discover.