# A System for Writing  ## Metadata - Author: Bob Doto - Full Title: A System for Writing - Category: #books ## Highlights - A zettelkasten is a method. In addition to being an object, a zettelkasten is a methodology—a way to capture ideas in notes, establish relationships between them, and leverage both for knowledge work. The formula is relatively straight forward: Capture ideas in the form of fleeting and/or reference notes. Turn these captures into individual main notes. Establish connections between the ideas recorded in these main notes. Keep track of developing trains of thought in hub notes, structure notes, and indexes. Turn these trains of thought into writing. ([Location 111](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=111)) - A zettelkasten is organized bottom-up. ([Location 119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=119)) - Fleeting notes live in a state of potential, waiting to be transformed into more useful “main notes,” the notes that will make up the bulk of your zettelkasten. ([Location 226](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=226)) - Have a thought. Write it down. Know that you’ll need to transform this note into something else, if it’s to become useful. ([Location 236](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=236)) - I recommend processing the contents of your inbox at least once a week. ([Location 249](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=249)) - Any notes that seem hard to process, but are still relevant to your thinking, should be moved to a “Sleeping” folder. ([Location 254](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=254)) - If an idea feels particularly “zettel worthy,” write “ZK” next to it. Later in the day or week, scan your journals to see what of these captures you’d like to import into your zettelkasten as main notes, and do so. ([Location 262](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=262)) - Note-taking allows you to quickly get ideas out of your head and onto the page, forcing previously amorphous thoughts to engage with the language needed to convert them into coherent ideas. ([Location 307](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=307)) - Externalizing your thoughts through writing will both challenge and reinforce your beliefs. ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=314)) - Capture what you think about what the author thinks. Reader-response theory posits that no one person, not even the author, has a monopoly on the meaning of a text. Rather, meaning is created through the act of reading. And, meanings can be many. ([Location 448](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=448)) - Write, underline, or otherwise indicate in the margins interesting passages you encountered while reading. Go back and pull what interests you into a reference note. ([Location 492](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=492)) - In its most basic form, a main note should have at least two components: a single idea, and a link to another idea stored in your zettelkasten ([Location 565](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=565)) - Note: Sort of wrong, doesn’t need link right now, just the probability that it will link at some point in the future - A title acts as a condensed thesis summing up the content of the idea stored in the note.32 It should be a declarative statement rather than a descriptor.33 “Not all apples are edible” is a better title than “Apples and edibility.” The former tells the note maker what’s being said inside the note while the latter hints at the topic to which the idea might be speaking. There’s also the issue of duplication. Declarative statements make it easier to tell if you’ve already captured an idea, while a descriptor like “Apples and edibility” could contain any number of ideas going in any number of directions. ([Location 588](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=588)) - Accumulating uncontextualized facts leads to a network of other people’s concepts, which will not necessarily improve your writing. To enhance the value of captured facts, it’s best to rephrase them in your own words. ([Location 681](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=681)) - Consider creating new notes so you can speak about the facts. By providing additional commentary, you can better integrate the information into your broader understanding of the topic, enhancing both your comprehension and your ability to write about the topic effectively ([Location 692](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=692)) - Regardless of the different kinds of information captured in a main note, creating these notes is generally achieved in one of two ways: Developing an idea “in light of” what’s already stored in your zettelkasten Developing an idea “in spite of” what’s already stored in your zettelkasten ([Location 708](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=708)) - “Link dumping” is the act of dropping uncontextualized links into your notes, assuming you’ll remember why the connections were made in the future. ([Location 864](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=864)) ## New highlights added March 15, 2025 at 8:24 AM - will not literally speak to you. But, visible areas of increased connectivity within the slip box, what Sönke Ahrens calls “clusters,”95 can guide you toward ideas ready for expression. Niklas Luhmann referred to these active areas as “lumps” or “regions with which we will work more often than with others.”96 These areas of increased connectivity, embedded within the zettelkasten’s distribution of notes, are clues pointing toward ideas of developing complexity. ([Location 1457](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1457)) - None, however, suggest the zettelkasten should do the writing for you. And, the reason is simple: Your zettelkasten is a terrible writer. ([Location 1646](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1646)) - Ahrens reminds would-be writers to avoid copying notes into manuscripts, stating that writers should instead “[t]ranslate [ideas] into something coherent” by embedding the ideas “into the context of the argument.” ([Location 1649](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1649)) - “Cut out the first paragraph. No need to wait around while the writer clears their throat.” Writers often need a running start to get the process going, especially when starting with a blank page ([Location 1731](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1731)) - The “Notes” section of a book is where an author can go off script, making it one of the more interesting sections to read. If you’ve got more to say, but it doesn’t square with the writing in front of you, make use of the back of your book. ([Location 1735](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1735)) - There’s always another blog to post, article or book to write. What you don’t use today, can be used tomorrow. Work with what’s in front of you. Bring in only what’s needed. ([Location 1742](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1742)) - Do not use the convenience of main notes to “ship” prepackaged ideas. Get into the mix of discourse. Your zettelkasten is a catalyst, not a substitute, for creativity. ([Location 1794](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1794)) - Creating a blog post from main notes is relatively straightforward: Choose a note. Rewrite the idea to fit the tone and tenor of your blog, adding any additional information or connections as needed. Relate the idea to other posts you’ve written and/or comments you’ve received. Consider connections to other notes to see where you might take this idea in subsequent posts. Title and upload the post. ([Location 1803](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=1803)) ## New highlights added March 15, 2025 at 10:55 AM - Neuroscientist and writer, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, a much-respected voice in the personal knowledge management scene, recommends the additional recording of non-work activities, such as falling “into a Twitter blackhole”136 or, in my case, a downward YouTube spiral. Le Cunff states that recording these “procrastination breaks” helps us become aware of how often they occur and how long they last. This can be especially helpful if you’re trying to better understand your daily workflow and where breaks might fit in. After all, one person’s procrastination is another person’s cognitive reset. ([Location 2050](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=2050)) - Niklas Luhmann worked on multiple manuscripts simultaneously, which allowed him to avoid writing “blockages.” ([Location 2192](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=2192)) - All published writing is part of what I call “the triangle of creativity.” You read something interesting, have thoughts, work out those thoughts through writing, and publish your writing so others can read it. ([Location 2256](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0D18J83VB&location=2256))