Hacker News Comments on
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
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- Ranked #22 this year (2024) · view
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All the comments and stories posted to Hacker News that reference this book.The way to get better at writing is to write.I would say that's part of the way to get better at writing. But I'd add, to paraphrase Stephen King from On Writing[1],
"To get better at writing, write a lot and read a lot."
Granted, King was speaking mainly to writers of fiction, but I think the advice holds just as well for technical writing or anything else.
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft...
Stephen King's "On Writing" [0] is one of the best examples of this
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...
⬐ jimmygrapesWhile 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.⬐ babyThis ^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.
⬐ throw0101aThe 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.
⬐ mindcrimeUnless 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.⬐ davidivadavid3 years of writing 1000 words a day, give or take.
A great book that helped me was "On Writing" by Stephen King.https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft...
I recommend getting three books and to begin writing at least 500 words per day distraction free (technical, fiction, stream of conscious):1) On Writing Well - William Zinser https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-Nonfict...
2) On Writing - Stephen King- https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft...
3) The Elements of Style - Strunk & White - https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/...
The two most important points are concise style and active voice. Both of these habits are critical for SEs to write concise emails, specs and commit messages. You will even see improvement in more casual day to day interactions (via slack, SMS etc).
⬐ vram22> and commit messagesI noticed a while ago a trend for commit messages to be in the active voice and present tense. Seems to make them more concise and read better / clearer. Started doing that myself on my projects.
⬐ sonecaI am reading "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace", have you read this?EDIT: link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Style-Lessons-Clarity-Grace-12th/dp/0...
⬐ StriverGuyI have not. I'll have to check it out.⬐ itamarstIt's much more useful then Strunk & White in my opinion.
Stephen King's rule is that the second draft of his book should be ten percent shorter compared with the first draft.Source: his biography On Writing (http://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/...)
_Bird by Bird_ by Anne Lamott http://amzn.com/0385480016Good, interesting, book on writing from a writing teacher's POV. Useful if you want to read the truth about the struggle to get published. Also good for improving your writing.
_On Writing_ by Stephen King http://amzn.com/1439156816
Stephen King's surprisingly good book on being a professional writer for most of his life.
"Writer's Digest" magazine. http://amzn.com/B00005NIPH
I've been subscribed to Writer's Digest for years. Full of helpful hints, interesting articles, and suggestions for improving your writing, regardless of the genre or media for which you are writing.