## Metadata - Author: [[Masterclass Notes]] - Full Title: Summary of Malcolm Gladwell’s Masterclass on Writing - Category: #articles - URL: https://medium.com/p/1da42028f95c ## Highlights - Give context to build character. The best way to describe a character is by describing the people and things around them, what they think of them, and how they interact with them. What type of environment a person chooses to be in and how they describe what is happening around them says a lot about the person. - Tags: [[favorite]] - Write simply and write musically. Malcolm is proud of the fact that he writes at an eighth grade level. This doesn’t mean his writing is dumb, it means he writes simply, which is actually far more effective than overly complex language. He also reads his reading out loud to hear how it sounds. When it sounds good, it reads well. - Writing is an empathic service. People are attracted to the arts, not just reading and writing, because it is a way to see into someone else’s mind, and in turn, discovering more of their own. Through empathy, writers learn about the minds of others, and through writing, share those learnings with readers as windows to other souls. - Pay attention to obscure details. Often just talking to an underused librarian or checking the endnotes on an article can lead you to some great discoveries. Talk to peculiar people, as they’ll often have interesting stories and can connect you to more interesting people as well. When you see something that seems a bit odd, but perhaps not alarming, don’t just brush it off, investigate it. It may lead to some shocking info