
How to Write - danso
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/books/review/colson-whiteheads-rules-for-writing.html?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=all
======
benihana
> _Never use three words when one will do. Be concise._

Tech bloggers: please read this and repeat it to yourself every day until it
sticks.

~~~
hammock
Some editorial comments:

1) "Please read this" is redundant because if they got that far in your post,
they've already read it. 2) "Repeat it to yourself every day" is trite and can
be made more interesting by substituting "day" with "hour" or something else.
3) You use "this" but refer to an abstract and ambiguous antecedent. 4) If
they can remember to repeat it to themselves each morning, then it must have
already stuck, so yours is a nonsensical sentence.

Here's my stab at something more creative:

Tech bloggers, make an effort to follow this advice each time you write, until
it becomes effortless.

Or something shorter:

Tech bloggers, sharpie this quote onto your keyboard.

~~~
jrockway
Or clearer:

Tech bloggers: be concise.

~~~
grecy
Be concise.

(It's directed at everyone and therefore includes Tech Bloggers)

~~~
jrockway
But you had to explain it with a long parenthetical remark.

~~~
dag11
No he didn't; that was separate as we're discussing how to make it even
shorter. His contribution was simply "Be concise."

------
Uhhrrr
This is a humor piece, not a guide (for HN readers who click on comments
first).

~~~
joshlegs
I disagree. There be much good advice in there; all stuff I learned in writing
college.

My favorite? Rule No. 10: Revise, revise, revise.

I can't tell you how many times I've written something, had it published
(through the newspaper I work at), then read it 2 weeks later and thought
"DAMN! I should have changed that!!"

~~~
nollidge
You disagree that it's a humor piece and not a guide? Yes, revising is
incidentally a good thing for writers to do, but this is quite obviously
satire if you read beyond the first sentence of each rule.

~~~
joshlegs
I took it to be an exercise in sarcasm to emphasize the point being made.
Admittedly, though, I didn't read many of the points through all the way ;)

I do have a habit of reading partially through an article and then commenting
...

~~~
mturmon
If you do not read something carefully, you will never learn anything new. The
habit you have gives too much weight to your internal biases and not enough to
what you're reading.

------
vorg
Rule No. 1: Code and Tell. Most people say, “Code, don’t comment,” but I stand
by Code and Comment.

Rule No. 2: Don’t go searching for a project, let your project find you. You
can’t rush inspiration. How do you think Linus came to “Linux”? It was just an
ordinary day, and there it was — fate.

Rule No. 3: Program in domains you know. Listen to your heart. Ask your heart,
Is it true? And if it is, let it be.

Rule No. 4: Never use three LOC when one will do. Be concise, use macros.
Don’t fall in love with the gentle trilling of your mellifluous commands and
blocks. Learn how to “kill your darlings,” as they say. With but a few deft
strokes, pare it down to create: “(help land shark)”.

Rule No. 5: Keep an open source dream diary.

Rule No. 6: What isn’t said is as important as what is said. In many classic
systems, the real action occurs in the API calls. Try to keep all the hard
yakka out of the code. Some “real world” practice might help.

Rule No. 7: Developers’s block is a tool — use it. When asked why you haven’t
upped your LOC lately, just say, “I’m cutting out unneeded blocks.” Since most
people think that developing is some mystical process where code is always
created, cutting out blocks is the perfect cover for when you feel like
refactoring.

Rule No. 8: Is secret. Yes, check out other jobs.

Rule No. 9: Have adventures. The Algol/C mode was in ascendancy for decades
before it was eclipsed by trendy fabulist “objects.” The pendulum is swinging
back, though, and it’s going to knock these object eggheads right out of their
Stroustrup chairs. Keep ahead of the curve. Get out and see the language
landscape. You’ll be glad you did.

Rule No. 10: Refactor, refactor, refactor. I cannot stress this enough.
Refactoring is when you do what you should have done the first time, but
didn’t. Get that draft counter going. Remove a semicolon and then print out
another copy — that’s another draft right there.

Rule No. 11: There are no rules. Except the ones you learned during your Code
and Comment days. Have fun. If they don’t want to be friends with you, they’re
not worth being friends with. Most of all, just be yourself.

------
rokhayakebe
I heard someone suggesting going through the mechanical process of writing
(even if just random uncoordinated phrases), when faced with writer's block,
to get the brain in the mood.

~~~
curtis
This is a well known technique: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing>

------
brycecolquitt
Since this is mostly satire--what are some actually good articles/blog posts
about how to write better? I'm familiar with "Writing, Briefly". Any other
suggestions?

~~~
antidoh
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing.

The rules:
[http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/Pag...](http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/304)

The book:
[http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/more/elmore_l...](http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/more/elmore_leonards_ten_rules_of_writing/)

The man: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmore_Leonard>

He's written a lot of books-to-movies that you've probably seen, or that your
dad has.

~~~
vacri
Most of those 10 rules read like of a list of his pet peeves rather than rules
for good writing.

------
BlackNapoleon
I find that being active on forums and debating stuff like religion (agnostic-
atheist) has really made my persuasive and argumentative writing better.

------
chris_mahan
I was going to write something; writer's block.

------
gwern
> Rule No. 5: Keep a dream diary.

I wasn't expecting that one.

~~~
mturmon
It is, of course, satirical. For a non-satirical example, see:

[http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/jun/15/why-i-
hate-...](http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/jun/15/why-i-hate-dreams/)

~~~
gwern
I dunno, it seems like it might be useful.

