Good writing is obvious, not original

The author argues that good writing comes from articulating obvious, fundamental truths rather than chasing originality, since most important ideas have already been explored by generations of thinkers. Trying too hard to be original tends to produce boring, generic results, as illustrated by a quote from Keith Johnstone's Impro about improv actors defaulting to clichés when forced to be original. Genuine originality emerges naturally when writers reflect deeply on their own obvious, taken-for-granted beliefs, which are hard to articulate precisely because they're so fundamental.