写作方法2017ianharris.com
写作时别再每次从零开始
Stop starting from scratch when you write
导读
这篇讲的是写作不必从空白页开始：先借用现成的引语、片段或他人的初稿作为“起跳板”，能有效绕过“面对空白屏幕无从下手”的心理障碍。对写作者来说，它的价值在于把“开始写”从灵感问题变成流程问题——先让文字存在，再把它改好。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
与其硬等灵感，不如先想办法让页面上出现任何文字——哪怕很糟或跑题，有了初稿再改会快得多。
- 02
可以把自己构思好的内容口述给别人（助手或懂行的人），拿他们整理出的文字当起点，绕开空白页焦虑。
- 03
积累一个“半成品库”：未完成的段落、旧素材、自己的片段，比借用他人引语更适合作为写作的起点。
- 04
别迷信“高手都怎么做”，能让你产出结果的流程才是好流程；方法适不适合你，要靠试了才知道。
HN 评论精选
先弄出一份粗糙的初稿（哪怕是别人代写的），是绕开空白页焦虑最有效的办法。
做了约二十年职业写作，我深知面对空白页和任务时自己有多没用；但只要开了头，往往一稿就能很快写完。以前我靠花一两天在脑子里酝酿再动笔；现在我意识到，任何水平的第一稿（再糟、再跑题都行）都足够让我接手写完。所以我惯用的办法是：先口头把要写的东西讲给懂行的助手听，拿他整理出的文字当起点，空白页问题就消失了。核心洞见在于：写作没理由必须从空页面开始。
CPLX查看英文原文
This is pretty good advice. I've been a professional writer in some manner or another for 20 years or so, and I've become keenly aware of how useless I can be when confronted with a blank sheet/screen and a mandate. Yet, once it's started it tends to finish very quickly, usually with just one draft. I used to sort of solve this problem by writing it in my head over the course of a day or three and then spitting out some basic language to start things off. Lately I've come to the realization that almost any level of first draft, no matter how awful or off the mark, is sufficient for me to dive right in and finish writing it quickly. So my go-to tactic is to verbally run down what I need written to someone else, like an assistant or someone who works for me who knows the topic, and then start with whatever they come up with and go from there, effectively eliminating the blank screen problem. The basic premise of this is insightful, there's really no reason why writing has to start with an empty page. I think that's the more interesting observation than the specifics of how he gets the ball rolling, which could easily vary from person to person.
更可靠的起点是自己的半成品素材库，而非拼贴他人的引语。
我是职业音乐人和作曲者，从不使用预制鼓 loop 之类的素材。胜任者的乐趣之一就是能快速搭出作品的基本部件；但音乐人脑中有一套可用来丰满灵感的技法库。我也存着自己写的半成品主题和想法，可以用来开始或扩展一首曲子。所以对写作而言，“自己的半成品库”比一堆他人的轶事和引语更贴近我的工作方式；那些引语更像我听过的、内化了的他人音乐，我作曲时绝不会直接照搬，最不希望这类拼贴元素靠近我的作品。
whiddershins查看英文原文
I am a professional musician and composer and I never, ever, start from prepackaged drum loops or anything of the sort. One of the super fun and satisfying things of being a competent musician is how quickly I can create basic components for my compositions. That said, musicians tend to have a mental library of ideas and techniques they can employ to flesh out an inspired idea. I also have a library of partially finished unused themes and ideas that I wrote, which I can bring in to start or expand a piece I'm working on. So a library of my own partially finished writings would be far more analogous to how I work than a bunch of anecdotes and quotes from other people. The anecdotes and quotes would be more analogous to other people's music which I've heard and internalized, but would never literally reference while I am composing. The last thing I want is those sorts of cut and paste elements to come anywhere near my work.
方法的价值在于是否让你产出结果，不必照搬“高手”的做法。
这串讨论的争论归根结底是：某种技巧是不是“有能力的人”会做的事。这忽略了要点：能干的人做能让自己高产的事。若你总琢磨“最顶尖的人”具体怎么做，最后得到的会是很适合别人的流程，很可能不适合你——你是在为“身份感”优化，而不是接近自己的潜力。原文的方法，只要你有它声称能解决的问题，就明显值得一试；也许有用，也许没用，但至少能让你更了解自己的脑子。别让人说服你：用了这种或那种方法就比别人差。结果才重要。（补充：这不意味着不该关注能干的人在做什么，他们能干是有原因的；但他们的方法对你不灵，或你有别的方法，也不必气馁。）
mistercow查看英文原文
There is a lot of argument in this thread that seems to boil down to whether or not this technique (or an analogous technique for another field) is something a competent person would do. I think that's missing an important point (which is also a point that TFA doesn't cover). Competent people do what makes them productive. If you start worrying about what specific things "the best" do, you're going to end up with a process that works very well for somebody else, and that very possibly won't work for you. You'll optimize for status, but you won't get near your potential. The idea in TFA seems to be clearly worth trying if you have the problem it purports to solve. Maybe it works for you, maybe it doesn't. Maybe it doesn't, but it gives you more data on how your brain works, and helps to come up with something that works better for you. But don't let anyone convince you that because you use this method or that, you're less competent than someone who uses other methods. Results are what matter. (Edit to add: That doesn't mean you shouldn't pay attention to what competent people are doing. They are competent for a reason. But you shouldn't be discouraged if their techniques don't work for you, or if different techniques do.)
“不从零开始”应落到结构与模板上，而不只是收集引语。
我很喜欢开篇的洞见，但作者低估了它的用法。写作者当然该有某种结构：写小说有几类 Scrivener 文件承载结构，写文章也有若干结构模板。但作者似乎认为“不从零开始”的落地方式就是收集引语，我认为这不是最好的用法：引语上网一搜就有；这也不是写作最大的难题；而且这样反而把他自己的洞见用窄了。如果其他 HN 读者有在各种写作中“不从零开始”的办法，我很感兴趣。
startupdiscuss查看英文原文
I really like the opening insight, but I thought the author undersold how it might be used. A writer should absolutely have some kind of structure. Writing a novel, here are 4 Scrivener files that encode structure. Writing an essay, here are some structures. But this author seems to think that the way to cash out the "don't start from scratch" is to collect quotes. I think this is not the best use of your time (you can google quotes on topics easily). Secondly, its not the largest challenge when writing, and thirdly, it sells short his own insight which I think can be taken further. If any other HN reader has any ideas on how to "not start from scratch" in various kind of writing, I would be interested.
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