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More people should write (2012)

jsomers.net

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Re: More people should write (2012)

#71
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Earlier this week I picked up a copy of On Writing Well by William Zinsser, a style guide on what he believes makes for good informal writing. It's yet to reflect in any of my comments but I'd recommend it if you struggle with being concise. It does have a heavy focus on American writing and it's akin to a longform opinion piece, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of what makes for an accessible and pleasant read…

I second the recommendation for "On Writing Well." I read this many years ago, and the book had a strong positive influence on my writing (serving me very well when later doing editorial work, writing articles, and writing summaries, emails, and reports week-to-week). George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" essay is a short essay that shares many of the pieces of advice [1]. The main principle that I've t…

Any magazines that you recommend?

Re: More people should write (2012)

#72
post #71
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I second the recommendation for "On Writing Well." I read this many years ago, and the book had a strong positive influence on my writing (serving me very well when later doing editorial work, writing articles, and writing summaries, emails, and reports week-to-week). George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" essay is a short essay that shares many of the pieces of advice [1]. The main principle that I've t…

Any magazines that you recommend?

I've found Harper's and The New Yorker educational for good composition and writing style.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just gave me a sad idea where there are people who exist to adulthood who have never burned paper or seen it burn first-hand. Like city children who have never seen animals, or lakes or seas or oceans, or never seen the stars, deprived of some deeply human experiences. (I grew up with a log fireplace at home, but I also played with friends using a magnifying glass to concentrate sunlight and ignite paper out on t…

My gut reaction was the same, but then I realized that in order to burn anything more substantial than a match on a regular basis I’d have to go to the outdoor grills or something. There’s no way to do it in my apartment without setting off a fire alarm.

Will candles set off the fire alarm where you live too?

I'll wager that burning one sheet of paper at a time would be on par with a continuously burning candle.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#74
post #71
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I second the recommendation for "On Writing Well." I read this many years ago, and the book had a strong positive influence on my writing (serving me very well when later doing editorial work, writing articles, and writing summaries, emails, and reports week-to-week). George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" essay is a short essay that shares many of the pieces of advice [1]. The main principle that I've t…

Any magazines that you recommend?

I share randcraw's recommendation of Harper's and The New Yorker, as I've subscribed to both and found their writing quality to be excellent. If you'd like to try them out, I recommend reading some of the past "Easy Chair" columns in Harper's for short-to-medium-length reflective essay articles. In The New Yorker, "A Reporter At Large" features are excellent (as they are thorough and often impactful to shaping current events upon publication), though the writing style is relatively lengthy.

If you like science reporting, The Atlantic has excellent reporters with this focus. The Scientific American and The New Scientist are also worth considering (along with the news and analysis-focused articles in the journals Nature and Science), though I've personally read The Atlantic more often as I'm also interested in the publication's articles about general topics outside of science reporting.

If you're interested in geopolitics, I highly recommend Foreign Affairs. The authors and contributors typically have interesting backgrounds in government or academia, and the essays are in-depth. Similarly to The New Yorker, the release of certain articles is itself newsworthy (often as senior policymakers of various countries are often guest writers)—as a direct result, the publication is closely read by senior policymakers of different countries. I also recommend The Diplomat as a comparable publication, with a specialized focus on news and analysis about geopolitics in East Asia.

If literary writing interests you, I would also recommend looking into some literary journals, such as The Paris Review, The Baffler, The Hedgehog Review, The Malahat Review, and Ploughshares.

These days, I personally listen to the audio versions of The New Yorker's Reporter At Large segments and The Atlantic's science reporting when I can. For the remaining publications, I typically download the ePub or PDF versions for reading on an e-reader (minus the publications that don't offer their issues in their format), and read just the articles that I find interesting on my commute.

For you personally, I would recommend identifying topics of interests that you are passionate about. You can then try to find high-quality publications about these subjects, which may or may not be on this list. If you're more interested in the focuses of the publications you read, you are more likely to develop a habit of reading well-written articles, which is helpful for improving your own ability to write.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#75
> write full sentences about themselves and the things they care about.

This is from 2012, when social media had not yet taken over the world. Now we're drowning in a sea of verbiage from people writing about themselves.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#76
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find burning pages kinda therapeutic. Give it a try, write your least shareable thoughts and then watch them burn.

How do you you do this in practice?

Just write on a sheet of paper, then fold it, put on a ceramic dish plate and burn it with lighter. Make sure you keep a window open and far from anything flammable. Better if you have a fireplace.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#77
What about people who write for themselves, and somehow end up on the homepage of Hacker News? You'll end up getting roasted by people like this guy: > Disagree. Writing a blog post is like getting on stage. You need to come on stage with a dream that you’re going to dazzle the audience with your show. Your blog is so interesting that it’s worth the time to read it! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38324486

Re: More people should write (2012)

#78
I don't write because: 1) I don't find writing in my native language interesting, 2) I am not fluent enough to write in English, 3) I think I would feel quite embarrassed to share my views under my name.

But I am contemplating about writing under pseudonyms with LLM proofreader assistant. Actually I do it right now with HN but without AI part although these are short creations.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#79
post #75

> write full sentences about themselves and the things they care about. This is from 2012, when social media had not yet taken over the world. Now we're drowning in a sea of verbiage from people writing about themselves.

I think my memory of 2012 must be different from yours, though I’m not exactly sure what ‘taken over the world’ means.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#80
I agree about the topic.

I'm not really a fan of "You should" stuff. I always try to word it as "I do this," or "When we do this", etc.

Little less "dictatorial," but then, I'm used to dealing with folks that are very contrarian, and have learned the futility of trying to get others to do something; even when it directly benefits them.

Because of this, I have been accused of "narcism," and "making it all about me." I guess we can't win for losing.

But I love to write. The problem is, it takes a lot of time and energy. I have been quite occupied with a project, the last couple of years, and that has interfered with my writing.

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