♟️ The Metagame #020: My New Favorite Programming Language

I finally got access to OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora, and let me tell you—this tool is going to change the game. I’ll share some of my work with it soon.

Anyway, here’s what’s in store for today:

• How I got into writing

• My favorite coding language

Read time: 3 minutes

I talk about writing a lot, but today I want to share how I got into it.

Spoiler alert: I used to hate it.

When I was in college, I was forced to take a first-year writing course. My professor was a graduate student who thought he was the next Hemenway and hated when anyone disagreed with him.

Anything that didn’t match his writing style was “bad writing.”

So naturally, he gave me a C- on my first paper.

Why? Because my writing was “too engineered.”

Well, I am an engineer—what did he expect?

That grade stung.

(Because I knew my paper was better than that…)

But it also taught me a valuable lesson: writing isn’t about overloading sentences with unnecessary jargon to show off how much you know. Good writing is clear, concise, and persuasive.

It’s about translating your thoughts into words that connect.

Several years later, I started writing coding tutorials on Medium.com. Some of these blew up a little, and I actually started getting paid for some of my guides.

From there, I started sharing my thoughts on Twitter (back when it was still good), and that evolved into these newsletters.

Fast forward to today, and writing is one of the most important skills I’ve ever developed. It’s connected me with people I never would’ve met otherwise. It’s how I do almost everything—from these newsletters, to my social media, and even to my coding.

Yes, coding.

If you asked me what the best coding language was a month ago, I would’ve said Python.

But then I attended Morning Brew’s IT Brew Conference, and one speaker said something that completely flipped my perspective.

The best programming language isn’t Python. Or JavaScript. Or C++.

It’s English.

If you can write in plain English—if you can explain what you want clearly—you can unlock the full power of today’s AI tools to generate code in any programming language.

Think about it.

Writing clear, concise prompts in English is the secret to using Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other AI tool. They can translate your intent into code, generate functions, debug scripts, and even prototype apps—all based on how well you describe what you want.

Plain English is how I’ve built many of my recent projects, like Sequence. It’s how I brainstorm application ideas, map out workflows, and, yes, even code.

But this realization doesn’t just apply to tech.

Writing is the foundational skill that powers everything in today’s world—whether you’re drafting an email, crafting a pitch, or building a product.

And it’s only becoming more valuable.

Let’s Be Real: AI Isn’t Going To Replace You

What will replace you is someone who knows how to use AI.

It’s not about memorizing syntax anymore. It’s about knowing how to communicate clearly—how to write instructions that a machine (or another human) can follow.

So, if you’ve been sleeping on your writing skills because you thought they didn’t matter? It’s time to wake up. Whether you’re building software, starting a business, or working in marketing, writing is the one skill that ties it all together.

And hey, if an engineer who got a C- on his first college paper can figure it out, you can too.

Interested in building with AI?

By the way, I’ve been teaching a friend how to code efficiently with the help of AI tools. If you’re interested in learning how to build something with AI, shoot me a message. Let’s talk.

Quote of the week

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, hit me up on LinkedIn or on 𝕏 at @sam_starkman, or feel free to reply to this email!

— Sam