soodoku / on-writing

Writing Tips, Tricks, and Tools

Writing Well

Writing is not transcribing. It is creating new ideas and finding new ways of expressing old ideas. Thus, writing encompasses both thinking about what to write and how to write it.

It also holds then that if we don't write, we don't create. If we don't write, some connections will not be made, and some innovations in phrasing will remain unthought. The act of writing, much like the act of talking, causes us to create.

Somewhat frighteningly, how we create remains beyond us. Take a second to think if you are conscious of where the words come from. You are in for an unsettling discovery.

We may not know where the words come from, but we do know how to turn the tap on. Reading, thinking, and talking about something generally make writing about that thing easier. So, read deeply, think hard, and talk extensively about what you want to write about.

Even when you do all this, the first draft is liable to be rife with errors. For it seems, often enough, we can't fully appreciate the stupidity of an argument until we have put it down on paper. And even then, recognizing errors in arguments and style generally requires a 'fresh pair of eyes,' ours or someone else's. So, take time between revisions. And ask others for help.

Lastly, a large chunk of a writer's output is never read. But it doesn't mean the work is wasted. Think of it as practice (like musicians) or do it because it is pleasant.

Resources

Succinct Advice on How to Write Better

• Robert's Rules: Suggestions for Writing by Robert Luskin.

• QJPS Style Guidelines

• John Cochrane's Writing Tips for Ph.D. Students

• Stephen Pinker's 13 Rules

  • Reverse-engineer what you read. If it feels like good writing, what makes it good? If it’s awful, why?

  • Prose is a window onto the world. Let your readers see what you are seeing by using visual, concrete language.

  • Don’t go meta. Minimize concepts about concepts, like “approach, assumption, concept, condition, context, framework, issue, level, model, perspective, process, range, role, strategy, tendency,” and “variable.”

  • Let verbs be verbs. “Appear,” not “make an appearance.”

  • Beware of the Curse of Knowledge: when you know something, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like not to know it. Minimize acronyms & technical terms. Use “for example” liberally. Show a draft around, & prepare to learn that what’s obvious to you may not be obvious to anyone else.

  • Omit needless words (Will Strunk was right about this).

  • Avoid clichés like the plague (thanks, William Safire).

  • Old information at the beginning of the sentence, new information at the end.

  • Save the heaviest for last: a complex phrase should go at the end of the sentence.

  • Prose must cohere: readers must know how each sentence is related to the preceding one. If it’s not obvious, use “that is, for example, in general, on the other hand, nevertheless, as a result, because, nonetheless,” or “despite.”

  • Revise several times with the single goal of improving the prose.

  • Read it aloud.

  • Find the best word, which is not always the fanciest word. Consult a dictionary with usage notes and a thesaurus.

• V.S. Naipaul's Rules for Beginners via India Uncut.

  • Do not write long sentences. A sentence should not have more than ten or twelve words.

  • Each sentence should make a clear statement. It should add to the statement that went before. A good paragraph is a series of clear, linked statements.

  • Do not use big words. If your computer tells you that your average word is more than five letters long, there is something wrong. The use of small words compels you to think about what you are writing. Even difficult ideas can be broken down into small words.

  • Never use words whose meaning you are not sure of. If you break this rule, you should look for other work.

  • The beginner should avoid using adjectives, except those of color, size, and number. Use as few adverbs as possible.

  • Avoid the abstract. Always go for the concrete.

  • Every day, for six months at least, practice writing in this way. Small words; short, clear, concrete sentences. It may be awkward, but it’s training you in the use of language. It may even be getting rid of the bad language habits you picked up at the university. You may go beyond these rules after you have thoroughly understood and mastered them.

Good Writers

A sure way to write better is to read good writers. Here are some people who I think write well: Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Brian Greene, Richard Thaler, Robert Luskin, Paul Sniderman, Donald Kinder, V.S. Naipaul, Vladimir Nabokov, and Jane Austen.

Books

• The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

  • Review: Frustrated with cryptic advice on writing style? This book is the perfect antidote. It is the single best book on writing that I have read.
  • Link to Amazon

• On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

  • Review: A treat. Important, if basic, points are conveyed clearly.
  • Link to Amazon

• Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies by Sol Stein

  • Review: Clear, frank, and extremely pragmatic advice for writers, including the basics of plotting.
  • Link to Amazon

• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

  • Review: Frank, personal advice on how to write fiction.
  • Link to Amazon

• Writing for Busy Readers by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink.

  • Review: I loved the idea of using design thinking for writing.

Tools

• Wordtune

• Hemingway Editor
  It encourages you to use smaller words and shorter sentences.

• Grammarly
  Get good advice on grammar. One portion of the software uses supervised algorithms that learn from editorial suggestions.

• Describing Words
  Looking for adjectives? The tool mines books and lists all the adjectives that have been used with a particular noun.

• Ludwig
  Find similar sentences to the ones you are trying to write from reputable websites to help you write better.

Presenting Well

• Presentation

• Kieran Healy's Advice on Making Slides