Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing? • Hacker News Board

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#81

Post by EForEndeavour » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:16 PM UTC

Dylan16807 wrote: post #63

coat wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really have a good explanation other than we already have words like 'However' and 'But'. It also seems redundant, maybe just start typing your contradictory position without the need for a connecting phrase? That being said, it may just be me who is annoyed by the phrase. I think it just gets used a lot and I can't help but notice for some reason. I think I've associated the phrase with strawman arguments an…

> I don't really have a good explanation other than we already have words like 'However' and 'But'. 'But' is very generic and 'However' is longer than 'that said'. > It also seems redundant, maybe just start typing your contradictory position without the need for a connecting phrase? That makes it much more difficult to keep the topic flowing, and it can be very confusing if you jump to an almost-contradiction withou…

> 'However' is longer than 'that said'.

We're both nitpicking at this point: "however" is shorter than "that said" according to two out of three relevant metrics:

"however": 1 word, 3 syllables, 7 characters

"that said": 2 words, 2 syllables, 9 characters

That said, it's a waste of time to worry about the difference anyway. Keep in mind that we aren't minifying JS or hand-optimizing processor code. When it comes to natural-language communication between humans, not every byte matters.

Use the words that sound natural to you for your intended audience. Weigh feedback from trusted coworkers and members of that audience.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#82

Post by EForEndeavour » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:19 PM UTC

chadcmulligan wrote: post #77

Dylan16807 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so hard to tell an joke on the internet...

I think it should be "a" joke

I honestly can't tell if you're jokingly missing the above joke. Either way, you make a good point.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#83

Post by winter_blue » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 3:35 PM UTC

AlexCoventry wrote: post #54

winter_blue wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought Benjamin Dreyer (the author)'s book on writing style, and the arrogant title of his book alone should have been a red flag. I'd strognly recommend On Writing Well instead.

On Writing Well has some ok advice, but not much of it. Style: Lessons in Clarity And Grace is much more comprehensive.

Thanks for sharing that! I'm going to check out Style: Lessons in Clarity And Grace!

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#84

Post by kaycebasques » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 5:26 PM UTC

dspillett wrote: post #57

kaycebasques wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always assumed that this is an SEO practice?

I'm not sure how a section of information that is often largely irrelevant to the recipe (despite mentioning a few key terms) is going to be a valuable SEO practise. I assume people are trying to be the next online cooking personality who gets to publish a book. I've seen a couple in shops with pictures of YouTube recipe demonstration people on the cover. Also, more text is more "content" to mix adverts into.

> Also, more text is more "content" to mix adverts into.

Ah, yes. Of course. This is the most plausible explanation IMO.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#85

Post by luord » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 6:05 PM UTC

In another piece of writing advise I read, the author said not to use physical descriptors in place of names (such as "the redhead") because it reduced the character to a single aspect.

Also I can't tell what's wrong with Jackson's passage: I assume it has something to do with Graves/gravely, but I don't know why it's wrong.

All in all, writing code seems much easier for me.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#86

Post by EdwardCoffin » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 6:38 PM UTC

zimpenfish wrote: post #65

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…

> A single edit with the goal of ruthlessly eliminating every unnecessary word works wonders for any first draft. "A single edit, eliminating unnecessary words, works wonders for any first draft." It's a cheap shot (that I learned from Language Log) but if you're going to live by the sword...

> A single edit with the goal of ruthlessly eliminating every unnecessary word

This phrasing makes it clear that the goal of that edit is to eliminate every unnecessary words.

> A single edit, eliminating unnecessary words

This phrasing implies that just one edit is needed, no particular focus, and is satisfied by eliminating some unnecessary words.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#87

Post by asdff » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 7:35 PM UTC

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.

Some websites still have a print friendly view that spits out the recipe nice and succinctly usually on one page

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#88

Post by asdff » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:01 PM UTC

billfruit wrote: post #45

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…

Not just in blogs, rambling, long winded style common at The Atlantic and New Yorker are excruciating too. Also referring to personal anecdotes of random persons to further a point. I also find the use of statistics/citing numbers from studies to prove a point, a most boring way to argue a point in writing.

It's like there are two tiers of writing at The Atlantic/New Yorker: A nice well written piece on a major topic that leaves you with something to think about during the day, or 8+ paragraphs on something like the emotional impact of a specific spring time NYC odor, or the perils of hiring a dog walker in Brooklyn.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#89

Post by Androlak » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 10:50 PM UTC

chadcmulligan wrote: post #42

As a techie I write good, but I always feel woefully inadequate when reading the nuances that real writers consider.

I have the same situation, technically I write well, but I lack the skill, like experienced writers, my texts are dry and not always interesting written. Now I read the book Jurassic Park, author Michael Crichton, I like the book more than the film. I want to write a review about the book and its differences from the film, I will use the help of writers from the service https://edusson.com/write-my-thesis.

Re: Bad Habits Creeping into Your Writing?

#90

Post by Steve44 » Fri, Apr 26, 2019, 6:55 AM UTC

EForEndeavour wrote: post #78

Steve44 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something I read a couple of weeks ago discussed this. From what I remember it’s to increase the time a user spends on a page, this increases the page ranking in Google; ISTR it was called dwell time.

ISTR = I Seem To Recall(?) Acronym expanded for the benefit of anyone else who's browsing HN before coffee and would have taken a similarly embarrassing length of time to infer the likely meaning of this one, which I'd never seen before.

I've always known is as "I Seem To Remember" and I thought it was in common use. It's been around for as long as I can remember, apologies for assuming.