写作方法2018theirrelevantinvestor.com编辑精选
给有志写作者的忠告
Advice for Aspiring Writers
导读
这是投资人博客 The Irrelevant Investor 上的一篇给写作者的忠告，核心观点包括别硬写、多读经典写作书、以及写完要主动分享。值得写作者读，是因为评论区里有资深作者（出过六本书的 O'Reilly 作者）和写作者给出了具体补充：关于“别硬写”的分歧、营销的必要性，以及“模仿”与“找到自己声音”的关系。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把“别硬写”理解为不要憋灵感，但一旦开始一个项目就要保持每日连续性，否则人物会变陌生、叙事手感会生锈。
- 02
写完不等于完成：至少把文章发到几个社交平台，好内容没人看到也会烂掉；质量越高，营销越省力。
- 03
先允许自己写得像别人，多数人是在长期模仿之后才找到自己的声音。
- 04
不必纠结“准作家”的身份，你只要在写，你就是写作者，哪怕暂时无人喝彩。
HN 评论精选
“别硬写”不等于断更：项目一旦启动就要每天推进，保持人物鲜活和叙事手感。
我是一位还算高产的作者（六本书，其中两本明年出第四版，都由 O'Reilly 出版），常有人问我写作建议。我总推荐斯蒂芬·金的《写作这回事》：别因为他是恐怖小说家就轻视他，我认为他是过去一个世纪最好的作家之一，这本书对写书的人尤其有用。我很赞同原文“别硬写”的说法，但金给了更精确的版本：一旦开始一个项目，我就不停、不减速，除非万不得已。因为不是每天写，人物就会在我脑中变得陈旧，从真人变回“角色”；叙事的锋刃开始生锈，我对手的情节与节奏失去掌控；最糟的是，创造新东西的兴奋感消退，工作开始像“工作”，而对大多数写作者来说那是致命一击。写作最好的状态，永远是作者本人的一种“有灵感的玩耍”。
andrewstellman查看英文原文
Quick quibble with one item: > Don’t force it. I’ve gone weeks without writing anything. It happens. I'm a reasonably prolific author (six books, two of them have fourth editions coming out in the coming year, all published by O'Reilly). Aspiring writers ask me for advice pretty regularly. (I'm happy to share, if anyone's interested and has questions.) One thing I always tell people is to read Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" -- people dismiss his work because he's a horror writer, but in my opinion he's one of the best writers of the past century. This book is full of excellent advice to writers, especially aspiring book writers. I found it valuable to my own work, even as an author of technical books. Most of Batnick's advice in his post is excellent, but I strongly agree with the advice not to force it. This excerpt from "On Writing" sums it up better than I can: > Once I start work on a project, I don’t stop and I don’t slow down unless I absolutely have to. If I don’t write every day, the characters begin to stale off in my mind—they begin to seem like characters instead of real people. The tale’s narrative cutting edge starts to rust and I begin to lose my hold on the story’s plot and pace. Worst of all, the excitement of spinning something new begins to fade. The work starts to feel like work, and for most writers that is the smooch of death. Writing is at its best—always, always, always—when it is a kind of inspired play for the writer. I can write in cold blood if I have to, but I like it best when it’s fresh and almost too hot to handle. (King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft (p. 153). Scribner. Kindle Edition.) I recognize that feeling from my own work -- again, as a writer of non-fiction, technical books. I think it's an excellent model for anyone looking to write.
好内容也需要最低限度的传播，质量越高营销成本越低。
“你写出来，他们就会来”这句老话过去管用，现在也“可能”管用，但极其罕见。一篇没人分享的好文章，无论多好都可能烂在那里。至少做一点营销，比如发到几个社交网络，就能起很大作用。我常这样看：文章质量越高，你在营销上要花的力气就越小。
canadianwriter查看英文原文
"If you write it they will come" (paraphrased.) This used to work and it CAN work but it is incredibly rare. An amazing article that isn't shared can languish no matter how good it is. At least a bit of marketing - eg. at least post it to a few social networks, can go a long way. I always look at it as: the better the quality of the article the less hard you have to work at marketing.
模仿是找到自己声音的必经阶段，写作身份不需要外部认可。
“模仿等于自杀。”但我更认同尼尔·盖曼的说法：我们大多数人都是在先像别人写了一阵之后，才找到自己的声音。另外，什么时候你才从“准写作者”变成“写作者”？第一篇文章发表？书登上畅销榜？我有时觉得，“准”这种说法只适合那些需要别人发许可证才能入行的领域。你写了，你就是写作者，哪怕零人欣赏。
rapfaria查看英文原文
"Imitation is suicide". I prefer Neil Gaiman's view of "Most of us only find our own voices after we sounded a lot like other people". Also, at what point you stop being an aspiring writer and become one? First article published? Your book tops the nyt list? Sometimes I think aspiration is better left for fields where you need somebody else's permit to work. You write, you are a writer, even with zero appreciation.
推荐 Dan Harmon 关于故事创作的视频片段作为补充学习材料。
《社区大学》和《瑞克和莫蒂》的创作者 Dan Harmon 在这个视频的 6 分 24 秒处讲的内容，任何有志于创作性写作的人都该看一看。
mentos查看英文原文
This part at 6 minutes 24 seconds from Dan Harmon (creator of Community/Rick and Morty) is a must watch for any aspiring creative writer: https://youtu.be/KkUz8KgKHhA?t=6m24s
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