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Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

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Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#11

Post by jbattle »

nn3 wrote: post #4
apo wrote: post #2

My own pet peeve in non-fiction, particularly the kind that appears on blogs: the excruciating warmup before the author finally gets to the point of the post. I know why this happens. When you sit down to write, you don't know what exactly you're going to say. You may even be anxious about it. Then, an idea sparks your imagination and you start writing stuff. The warmup that comes out initially gets you on track. Not…

It is even worse in internet recipes. The authors tend to go on and on about their feelings, family and personal stories before finally getting to the point how to actually cook the dish. I usually have to skip several paragraphs.

I think that 'fluff' is actually interesting content to the bulk of people landing on that page. I know folks who read recipes for fun, I expect they genuinely enjoy reading the color commentary just like I might enjoy reading some 'extraneous' content in a movie/album review

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#12

Post by Animats »

From the article:

Many writers rely more heavily on pronouns than I’d suggest is useful. For me this sort of thing comes under the heading Remember that Writing Is Not Speaking. When we talk, we can usually make ourselves understood even amid a flood of vague “he”s and “she”s. On the page, too many pronouns are apt to be confounding. I’d strongly suggest to the point of insistence that you avoid referring to two people by the same pronoun over the course of a single sentence; to be frank, I’d suggest that you avoid it over the course of a single paragraph. (I know a few authors of same-sex romance novels who are regularly driven to tears by this sort of thing.)

Tightened up:

Pronouns can be overused. Writing is not speaking. When we talk, we can understand who's who amid a flood of "he"s and "she"s. On the page, that's confusing. Best to avoid referring to two people by the same pronoun in the same sentence. (Same-sex romance novelists struggle with this.)

Who, besides the guy himself, says this guy is the "Internet's copy editor in chief"?

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#13

Post by ddxxdd »

apo wrote: post #2

My own pet peeve in non-fiction, particularly the kind that appears on blogs: the excruciating warmup before the author finally gets to the point of the post. I know why this happens. When you sit down to write, you don't know what exactly you're going to say. You may even be anxious about it. Then, an idea sparks your imagination and you start writing stuff. The warmup that comes out initially gets you on track. Not…

On many of my favorite Youtube videos, that "excrutiating" warm-up is part of the appeal. It feels more like a mysterious build-up towards an exciting payoff, when done right. That can be generalized towards writing or any other media.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#14

Post by munchbunny »

nn3 wrote: post #4
apo wrote: post #2

My own pet peeve in non-fiction, particularly the kind that appears on blogs: the excruciating warmup before the author finally gets to the point of the post. I know why this happens. When you sit down to write, you don't know what exactly you're going to say. You may even be anxious about it. Then, an idea sparks your imagination and you start writing stuff. The warmup that comes out initially gets you on track. Not…

It is even worse in internet recipes. The authors tend to go on and on about their feelings, family and personal stories before finally getting to the point how to actually cook the dish. I usually have to skip several paragraphs.

That was the first thing that came to mind for me too. Usually the recipes come after two pages of exposition and 5 ads. It gets especially bad on my phone because then all I see are ads.

That's why I love King Arthur Flour's recipes (among others). Short intro, and then it gets right into how to get more consistency and quality out of the recipe or how to do variations on the recipe. It's not another long winded essay that boils down to "I cook this for my family."

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#17

Post by aetherson »

scolby33 wrote: post #8
kaycebasques wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always assumed that this is an SEO practice?

I think it’s because the recipe itself cannot be copyrighted but the blog post around it can. I know I read this somewhere, but can’t find the reference now. So, take this with a grain of salt or a starting point for your own research :)

More people read those blog posts as entertainment than use the recipe.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#18

Post by Someone1234 »

coat wrote: post #9

There should be a version of this for hacker news comments and tech blog posts. Every time I see the phrase 'that said' or 'that being said' I involuntarily cringe. https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&prefix&page=0&dateRange=...

Can you explain why? The phase allows you, after having made a point, to invert that point then suggest an alternative explanation or perspective.

I read a few of the posts in the search results, and "That being said" felt natural in many cases to join sometimes contradictory positions or different degrees of the same position together into one fluid thought.

Someone can cringe at anyone. Without offering critique, insight, or alternative it feels hollow though.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#19

Post by ABCLAW »

Animats wrote: post #12

From the article: Many writers rely more heavily on pronouns than I’d suggest is useful. For me this sort of thing comes under the heading Remember that Writing Is Not Speaking. When we talk, we can usually make ourselves understood even amid a flood of vague “he”s and “she”s. On the page, too many pronouns are apt to be confounding. I’d strongly suggest to the point of insistence that you avoid referring to two peop…

I prefer the author's version.

What you have gained in brevity, you have lost many times over in tone, pace and depth.

The author's repetitions are not errors - they highlight his insistence. Additionally, despite ample pronoun use, his text is clear and illustrative of his point.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#20

Post by cgriswald »

ABCLAW wrote: post #19
Animats wrote: post #12

From the article: Many writers rely more heavily on pronouns than I’d suggest is useful. For me this sort of thing comes under the heading Remember that Writing Is Not Speaking. When we talk, we can usually make ourselves understood even amid a flood of vague “he”s and “she”s. On the page, too many pronouns are apt to be confounding. I’d strongly suggest to the point of insistence that you avoid referring to two peop…

I prefer the author's version. What you have gained in brevity, you have lost many times over in tone, pace and depth. The author's repetitions are not errors - they highlight his insistence. Additionally, despite ample pronoun use, his text is clear and illustrative of his point.

I don’t even prefer the first sentence: The “I’d suggest” is completely redundant. The rest of it is more difficult to read and parse than the GP’s version, while the pacing seems slow and the path through the content muddled. To each his own, I guess.
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