Write Simply
paulgraham.com
Write Simply
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Re: Write Simply
#2>That's why some people write that way, to conceal the fact that they have nothing to say.
That's a great point.
Re: Write Simply
#3On Writing Well[0] is one of the best books I've read. I'd recommended it to anyone who wants to improve their writing.
0: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53343.On_Writing_Well
Re: Write Simply
#4[deleted]
Re: Write Simply
#5Another piece of writing advice: Never use adverbs.
Re: Write Simply
#6> The other reason my writing ends up being simple is the way I do it. I write the first draft fast, then spend days editing it, trying to get everything just right. Much of this editing is cutting, and that makes simple writing even simpler.
ruthless editing seems a pretty big factor in the writing well result.
Re: Write Simply
#7Another piece of writing advice: Never use adverbs.
So the two-word title here already failed? Hmm.
Re: Write Simply
#8Achieving simplicity is hard. Allow me to explain, with a software analogy, too many times "customers" or users wants a "simple" solution, wrongly expecting that a simple final product was made with a simple implementation, which is not the case at all. It's the opposite.
I would expect the same process about writing, a final and concise essay requires tons of work, removing a word and replacing it with a common alternative and rewording phrases to make it simpler (for the reader). I understand Paul statement as "use a limited and common vocabulary" rather than complex words and sentences with fluff.
Re: Write Simply
#9“Easy reading is damn hard writing.“ — Nathaniel Hawthorne (apparently)*
There’s definite value to simplicity in writing. At the same time, like all principles, people tend to run with the idea and misapply it. There are some cases in which your work demands a certain level of precision that’s only possible using complex words or jargon. Not to mention, writing that’s a little complicated can be a lot more fun! There are several novelists, essayists, and poets who are a joy to read not because they express their ideas as clearly and simply as possible, but because they manage linguistic acrobatics that make us realize there are ways to use language we never thought possible—often it takes some extra work to understand such output.
*: Have never taken the time to verify this myself.
Re: Write Simply
#10On Writing Well[0] is one of the best books I've read. I'd recommended it to anyone who wants to improve their writing. 0: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53343.On_Writing_Well
I agree. It is an excellent book that will teach you to use fewer and simpler words. I think it makes a lot of sense in technical and business writing.
Aside from knowing this though the most effective thing I've learned to do is to keep re-reading what I wrote. Reorganize phrases to keep connected thoughts nearby in text. In English you have a lot of freedom to put phrases all over the place in a sentence. When I write I very rarely put all the connected phrases next to each other in the first pass.
But I guess I'd generalize that to say: taking the time to re-read what you wrote and edit it actually makes a big difference. It took a lot of shitty writing and overcoming laziness in school before I learned this lesson.