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Ben Franklin’s 200+ Year Old Method Is Still the Best Way to Learn to Write
I thought about starting this article by making the case that you should still learn to write even in the age of AI. But I’ll leave it to you to read the million and one articles out there from writing teachers, neuroscientists, CEOs, literary icons, and even me arguing that, if you want to actually be able to think well, you still need to learn to write well.
This column is for those who are already convinced that the sometimes maddening work of transmuting thoughts in your head to words on the page makes you a smarter, wiser worker and citizen. (Not necessarily in that order.) Those who are ready to move on to the next important question: Given all that, what’s the best way to learn to write well?
You can sign up for courses and coaching, of course. But if you want to DIY your way to greater self-knowledge, a stronger brain, and an increasingly rare and valuable skill, then the only teacher you really need is Ben Franklin.
His approach is old. And it’s difficult — there’s no way to sugarcoat that following Franklin’s method takes some dedication. But it also transformed the Founding Father into someone who could craft sentences that are still read more than 200 years later. It is almost guaranteed to turn you into a much better writer too.
