Ask HN: How can I improve my writing skills?
9 comments
If you find something that works please post your results here. I'd also like to improve my writing. Clear communication is so important in this industry but I just can't master it.
Google has some pretty good introductory writing resources for developers: https://developers.google.com/tech-writing/one
Here is the 3 step method to improving your writing:
1. Get a book called Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
2. Internalize the rules in that book and apply them whenever you write.
3. Write as much as you can, and read even more.
The Third Edition of Elements of Style (1979) is the most faithful to Strunk's great rhythm and style:
>Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
By the fourth edition (1999) mother modernity knows best. A crock of editors resort to neutering his rules to skirt around them easier, sacrificing all rhythm and possessive clarity:
>This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
>Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
By the fourth edition (1999) mother modernity knows best. A crock of editors resort to neutering his rules to skirt around them easier, sacrificing all rhythm and possessive clarity:
>This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
The Plain English Campaign offer some free guides on their website: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-guides.html
1. Ask yourself: What do I want to say?
2. Say it.
3. Say it shorter.
People think if they state their ideas plainly, others will think these are obvious, simple ideas. So they try to cover it up, using big words and long sentences.
Substance comes before style, so first you make your point. Then you chop it down.
(Personally, once I'm done writing, I set out to cut it by 20%)
Kevin Kelly wrote this same advice differently, he said you can't write and edit at the same time.
People think if they state their ideas plainly, others will think these are obvious, simple ideas. So they try to cover it up, using big words and long sentences.
Substance comes before style, so first you make your point. Then you chop it down.
(Personally, once I'm done writing, I set out to cut it by 20%)
Kevin Kelly wrote this same advice differently, he said you can't write and edit at the same time.
Grammarly has helped me out a lot. Even though it fixes your mistakes, you can see what you did wrong and learn from it. I also read a lot. active reading can help you so much!
Joseph M. Williams's "Style: Toward Clarity and Grace" is by far the best book on learning HOW to put sentences and paragraphs together. It teaches principles that I've never seen anywhere else -- principles for making my writing easy to read and understand.
Then it teaches methods for applying those principles.
So instead of teaching rules, it teaches how writing can be clear. Instead of "don't use passives" it shows the only time a passive verb makes the writing easier to read. It teaches how much new information to put in a sentence and where to put it. And then it shows how to connect that sentence to the next for simple flow.
To write week, you first have to read a lot of well written works. This comes from fiction, rather that non fiction.
I keep iterating on the things I write and never seem to be satisfied, and see there is always a room of improvements. I don't feel the same way when I read others articles / blogs.