✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

How to write a smart internet essay - by bea

thedigitalmeadow.substack.com · 704 words · saved by 1 readers

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a writer is that not everything needs to have a hot take. Just because everyone’s posting about something doesn’t mean it’s actually worth writing about. And if you have to force it, it ultimately feels hollow. But that’s not you should approach cultural essays. When you sit down to write, it should be to figure something about. “What underlying issues is this perpetuating?” or “Why are people gravitating towards this in our current social or political time?” Why this object, this trend, this behavior, this interest, right now? I wanted to share my approach to this kind of writing. Where I find inspiration, how I shape that initial interest into a full-fledged argument, and where I go to find evidence to ground it. This isn’t a rigid formula, but more of a loose structure that helps me turn simple curiosity into something worth saying. Arguably the hardest part of writing anything is finding something to write about. Sometimes I’ll go we

How to write a smart internet essay because good taste and genuine curiosity can't be generated by AI sabine carys Jul 11, 2025 ∙ Paid 4,418 74 505 Share One of the most important things I’ve learned as a writer is that not everything needs to have a hot take. Just because everyone’s posting about something doesn’t mean it’s actually worth writing about. And if you have to force it, it ultimately feels hollow. But that’s not you should approach cultural essays. When you sit down to write, it should be to figure something out. “What underlying issues is this perpetuating?” or “Why are people gr

Explore this link on the map →

related reading