HN Books @HNBooksMonth

Two resources I recommend consulting:

https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Stephen-King/dp/1444723251/

To paraphrase some of King's advice:

"Read a lot and write a lot".

I don't think learning to write blog posts is particularly different from learning to write anything else. To the extent that that is true, I'd refer you to Stephen King's book On Writing[1]. Specifically, one bit of advice from that book (loosely paraphrased) "the best way to learn to write well is to read a lot and write a lot".

The other book I'd recommend is The Pyramid Principle[2] by Barbara Minto.

[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft...

[2]: https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

⬐ jimmygrapes

While I and many others have issues with King's apparent inability to end a story and his editors' not saying "no" enough, one thing I have actively noticed in his writing is that I never get hung up on overuse specific words or phrases. For a counter example, Frank Herbert's earlier works had the phrase "shoots a glance" so many times that I ended up being focused on counting those rather than the story. I also tend to notice when an author uses a specific term more than their peers, such as Dan Simmons and his use of) "lapiz lazuli" rather than just saying "blue". It's fine to use, but it stands out to me in ways that cause me to pause my reading and acknowledge the term consciously, rather than keep the narrative flow in my head.

⬐ baby

This ^

The first part of "On Writing" is fantastic, in the sense that it tells you through King's own life that there are no shortcuts: you must learn by writing. And sometimes, you'll have people to criticize what you wrote, and that'll be the best thing.

⬐ throw0101a

The sci-fi author Jerry Pournelle used to say that the first 1,000,000 words you write will not be very good. He was not alone:

> David Eddings, an American novelist who was most famous for his epic fantasy books, once gave the following advice to new writers:

> “My advice to the young writer is likely to be unpalatable in an age of instant successes and meteoric falls. I tell the neophyte: Write a million words–the absolute best you can write, then throw it all away and bravely turn your back on what you have written. At that point, you’re ready to begin.”

> That same advice has come from a number of other sources—it’s tough to determine just who said it first. Some point to legends such as Ray Bradbury or Jerry Pournelle, both of whom famously advice that new writers should write a million words before considering themselves ready to take up the cause.

* https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/the-first-million-words-a...

* https://blog.karenwoodward.org/2014/03/one-million-words-to-...

Of course the first 1e6 can't be written carelessly either, simply going through the motions.

⬐ mindcrime

Unless HN comments count towards the 1e6, I need to get cracking. I don't know my word count for blog / technical stuff, but I'm reasonably sure it's nowhere near a million.

⬐ davidivadavid

3 years of writing 1000 words a day, give or take.

Nice! You'd asked for my thoughts on this article [0]. Choosing the correction level of abstraction is an important part of naming, so I appreciate that the article focuses on it. (In case anyone is curious, this topic is discussed in the book, too.)

Walking through the Abstraction Ladder with an example is a useful approach here. I'm curious if the same takeaways could be achieved in fewer words (it looks like the article is currently ~3,000 words). I've personally found the Pyramid Principle [1] to be a helpful starting point for determining which points I'd like to make within a piece of writing and then structuring the content around those, which may be applicable here, too.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22318512

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

⬐ tjstankus

Thanks for reading and providing feedback. Yes, it definitely could've been shorter, but everything in it is intentional. Many longer pieces suffer from lack of editing, which was definitely not the case here. Looking forward to your book!

If your looking for a good book on writing as far as logical structure, I would highly recommend The Pyramid Principle

https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

My (personal) tl;dr from it was:

- Some light style rules about having no qualifiers e.g. words like "really significant" were banned

- Keep language super concise and non-flowery. Don't try to sound clever, Keep It Simple, Stupid for language basically

- Structure arguments a bit like the Minto pyramid[0] was another one I was told while there

- No one cares how much work or effort went into your doc, or how clever it is, only the final artefact of your work/thought should make it into the doc no matter how concisely you can express it

[0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Thi...

Vis-a-vis written communication: A book that I discovered via a recommendation here on HN, and which I will recommend in turn, is The Pyramid Principle[1] by Barbara Minto.

In terms of spoken communication... I'd suggest looking into Toastmasters, and/or just volunteer to speak at user-group meetings and things of that nature. There are a number of good books out there on public speaking / presenting, but most of what I've learned on the topic came from online sources (like threads here on HN) and just practice.

Also, as somebody else said: read lots of books. Try blogging / writing in some context. The more you write, the better you'll get. Somebody, I think maybe it was Stephen King[2], said something like (paraphrased) "the best way to learn to write well is to read a lot and write a lot".

[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

[2]: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/...

Most people don't:

- Consider their audience

- Make use of structure

- Repeatedly edit what they have written before hitting send

The first and third items are things you can just decide to do: think of your audience, and spend time to read and adjust the content and format until it's great.

For the second item, consider this book: https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

the book The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking is a fantastic resource. The first part of the book discusses how to structure your ideas in writing to communicate them well. The second half of the book addresses logical thinking

https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Think...

⬐ tmaly

wow that is pretty pricey for a book. I am surprised there is not a cheaper alternative

⬐ mindcrime

Oh wow, I didn't even notice that. When I bought my copy it was much cheaper. Not sure why the big jump. At least it appears that some used copies are available for a more reasonable price...

⬐ tmaly

I noticed there is a 1995 version under a wiley series that you can get copies for half that price of the 2009 version

A good book related to the topic of clear writing is "The Pyramid Principle". http://www.amazon.com/The-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking...

This book was recommended by a fellow HN'er a few years back in a different thread. I bought a copy and read it and was suitably impressed. I'm still working on integrating the ideas from the book, but I think it's worth reading.

Basically, the book teaches you to organize your thoughts (and writing) in a hierarchical, logical structure, and to present the most important idea first, and then branch out below that with sub-points and supporting material.

If you're interested in clear writing, I think this book is worth the money and time.

⬐ jacquesm

This applies to good code just the same.

⬐ minikomi

Kind of sounds like a pitch for org mode too!

The dirty little secret of writing is that it never gets easy. It might look like other writers can bust out beautiful seamless prose without breaking a sweat, but what you don't see are the hundreds of little revisions and rewrites that happen, sometimes just inside their brain.

That is so true. I read somewhere once that a big reason many people don't try writing is because they read their favorite writers, and then try to write something, and when their words don't come out like, say, Stephen King, they give up. And the thing I was reading (sorry, don't remember the exact source now) was basically making the same point you just made. So, if you want to write like Stephen King, or Dean Koontz, or Haruki Murakami or Ernest Hemingway or whoever, you have to realize that their works didn't just flow from their fingertips in one continuous stream of perfection, from beginning direct to end. The great writers revise and revise and edit and revise and rewriter obsessively. Or so I hear. Koontz is notorious for saying that he only writes one page at a time, and he keeps rewriting that page until he's happy with it.

Because writing, at its most fundamental level, is the art of making your own ideas more clear to yourself. So how do you become a better writer? Become a more clear thinker.

That reminds me of another book that I see recommended here on HN quite often, and which I myself bought on such a recommendation. It's called The Pyramid Principle.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking...

I'm only part way through it, but I think it's quite worthwhile. The basic premise is about logic and clarity and organization in thinking & writing.

re: " how people get to express their ideas in such a clear and persuasive way"

http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Thinki...

Recommended reading, especially for anyone whom consults or writes proposals.

Somebody, I think it was Stephen King, once said something like "the best way to get better at writing is to write a lot, and read a lot". I seem to recall this sentiment being expressed in King's book On Writing, but I may be mis-remembering. Anyway, it rings true with me. Read, write, read some more, write some more, lather, rinse, repeat.

If you need something to help encourage you to write, consider participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)[1][2].

Also, there are TONS of resources available for people who are working on getting better at writing. Just go down to any Barnes & Noble store and find the section with the writing books, and you'll find shelves full of books on "how to be a better writer". Some are aimed at fiction, some non-fiction, some specifically for writers of memoirs, magazine articles, etc.

It's sort of cliched to say, but The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is excellent, as is Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

I have been trying to improve my English a little but not having anybody to write to or any need to use English makes me believe that I will be stagnated in a low level profile, and that I will never will achieve the level of mastery and proficiency they show so well in their writing.

Maybe consider starting a blog in English, and just write about whatever interests you. It doesn't even really matter if you get any readers/followers or not, the important thing is just to write as much as you can.

All of this advice is predicated on the idea that you're more interested in getting better at written English. If you want to be a better public speaker the best thing to do is, wait for it... do a lot of speaking!

One good way to get yourself some practice speaking is to join a group like Toastmasters[3], if you have a chapter nearby. If not, there may be a similar group, but you may have to dig a little. Another option would be to find any local techie user-groups (Linux User's Group, Ruby Meetup, Java Meetup, whatever it might be) and offer to present there. These groups often struggle to find enough speakers to fill their calendars, and any volunteers of usually (in my experience) warmly welcomed.

Edit: I just remembered, there is another book, which I found recommended here on HN a while back, and just recently acquired, which I consider excellent. It's called The Pyramid Principle[4], by Barbara Minto. This book is less about language, and more about structure and organization, in terms of how you present your ideas. I recommend this one very highly.

[1]: http://nanowrimo.org/

[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month

[3]: http://www.toastmasters.org/

[4]: http://www.amazon.com/The-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking...

In a senior role, effective communication becomes more important. One of the best books I've read about how to communicate effectively is http://www.amazon.com/The-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking...

It introduces a specific method to write concise, effective business documents. Then it shows how you can use the method to critique your own thinking.

⬐ fjordan

On a related note, this book (http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/) is excellent.

The author approaches communication from the principle of Gestalt psychology and really helps one understand how our minds communicate.

⬐ robinwarren

I'd second this book. I've just finished it and am writing up a synopsis for my blog. It's been useful for improving my own writing and I intend to use the processes laid out to assess decisions made by others in future.

⬐ Denzel

Yes, I can't recommend this book enough. Throughout my career, I've come into contact with a number of consultants from Harvard/MIT, Bain, McKinsey, etc. They all had a way of communicating ideas so clearly and effectively that I could understand exactly what they were saying, almost immediately. There was virtually no loss of information between what they spoke and what I heard. The ideas and thoughts all just flowed into my brain painlessly. I aspired to communicate as well as these people, but I just couldn't figure out the formula.

Finally, one late night, sitting across from my managing director (the leader of a prestigious boutique pharma-consulting firm), I asked him rather bluntly, "How did you learn to speak so well?" He gave me a rather blank stare, and thought for a little while. "Ah!" he exclaimed, jumping up from his desk and darting over to his bookcase. After a little rummaging, lo and behold, he pulled out an old copy of the Pyramid Principle. I leafed through the book and found a number of notes and highlights as he explained to me that what I held was the single most influential book he'd ever read. He told me to read it, not as a way to structure presentations or emails (although it helps there), but as a new lifestyle. Fold the ideas and principles into your very being, so as to become second nature, and you'll never have trouble communicating again.

It's a must-read book.

⬐ avenger123

+1. What a great endorsement for the book. Your two paragraphs capture so much and in such a delightful way that it's hard not to want to buy the book.

One thing I try (and don't always succeed) in doing is to ask myself - if someone who is very busy is going to read this article, can they extract the value out of it quickly and efficiently?

There's two key things you could do to enable that:

1. Use headings that summarise the text below; currently, your headings are introductions to the text below rather than summaries. Of course you can't get everything into a 5-word heading, but looking at the heading, the reader should not only know what type of content is coming, but also largely what the conclusion of it will be. A really good book on this topic is http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Thin...

2. Summarise the key points at the end. A lot of people scroll through, glance at the headings, then look at the conclusion, before they decide whether to read the article. Summarising your points will, paradoxically, get more people to read the full article (or at least dive into the points of interest to them).

I believe that if you want people's attention, you need to show that you're respectful of their precious and limited time.

⬐ kingsidharth

Great ideas! Will work with them next I sit to write. Thanks, early adopter :P

On a slightly more elaborate and potent level, try "The Pyramid Princple" by Barbara Minto:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Thin...