写作方法2010apostate.com编辑精选
如何在 500 字内言之无物
How to Say Nothing in 500 Words
导读
这篇经典写作指南讲的是如何避免用500字说空话：不要一上来就写显而易见的内容，要选择不寻常的角度，从抽象落到具体，删掉凑字数的废话，警惕陈词滥调，并选用准确、有色彩的词语。它给写作者一套可操作的自查清单，提醒我们具体和精确比泛泛而谈更难，也更值得。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
动笔前先问“这个说法到底指什么”，用一个具体场景、例子或细节替代抽象概括。
- 02
刻意避开最先想到的、人人都写的角度，选一个不那么常见但站得住脚的立场。
- 03
删掉明显的凑字数段落和陈词滥调，把正确但空泛的词换成准确、有画面感的词。
- 04
用“最短能表达原意”的标准改写句子，检查每个例子和修饰是否必要。
HN 评论精选
具体化能暴露真实需求；写作也应逼问“到底指什么”，用可感细节替代抽象口号。
给出具体例子也是费曼常谈的。抽象地谈任何事都容易，但最终必须有真实、可感的东西。做企业软件时，我会追问销售这个功能到底意味着什么、做什么。它当然会简化销售订单审批流程，但具体包括什么？Outlook 插件？浏览器弹窗？短信通知？Excel 报表？还是用户整天要刷新12个不同页面？用户最终要跟某个具体东西交互，直接把界面截图拿给我看。写业务软件时，我也用同样方式跟用户抠细节。我明白你想让我修文档打印流程，但这太模糊，没法写代码。我们得弄清楚到底哪里要修。通常深挖之后，我改一两个按钮就修好了。做到精确、具体很难，泛泛而谈太容易。
chime查看英文原文
Giving concrete examples is something Feynman talked about a lot too. It is easy to talk abstractly about anything but in the end, something real and relatable must exist. When I deal with enterprise software, I prod the sales guys to tell me what the feature really means and does. Sure, it will streamline the sales order approval process but what does that entail? Outlook add ons? Browser popups? Notifications over SMS? Excel reports? Or 12 different screens that users have to click refresh on all day? My users will interact with something in the end. Show me the screenshots of all that already. When I write business software, I dig in for details with my users in the same way. I understand you want me to fix the document printing process. Unfortunately that is too vague to write code for. Let's find out exactly what it is that needs fixing. Usually after some digging in, I change a button or two and it is now fixed! It is hard work to be exact, precise, and specific. Being general is too easy.
递归式套模板容易机械填充、制造冗长，应警惕为凑篇幅而分段。
我以前写论文会采用“分形”结构。短文大概这样：我认为A成立。A至少有三个理由：B、C、D。B至少有三个理由。第一E，第二F，第三G。因此B成立。C至少有三个理由……D至少有三个理由……总之A成立。若想写长文，就在B、C、D下加同样形式的子段落；写学位论文时，每个子段落还有子子段落。你可以猜到写书会怎样。
cduan查看英文原文
I used to write papers in a fractal form. A short one would go like: In my opinion, A is true. A is true for at least three reasons: B, C, and D. B is true for at least three reasons. First, E. Second, F. Third, G. Therefore, B is true. C is true for at least three reasons... D is true for at least three reasons... In conclusion, A is true. If I wanted a longer paper, there would be subparagraphs under B, C, and D, in the same form. For my thesis, each of those subparagraphs got sub-subparagraphs. You can guess what I would do if I ever wrote a book.
用标题清单自查，并以“最短表达同一意思”的方式训练删繁就简。
这些标题本身就说明问题：“避开显而易见的内容”“站到不那么常见的一边”“从抽象中滑出来”“删掉明显的凑字数内容”“把傻瓜叫傻瓜”“当心陈词滥调”“彩色词语”“有色词语”“无色词语”。标题已很好地概括全文，正符合“从抽象中滑出来”，而文中例子幽默、充分，能真正帮人领会要点。有意思的是，可以想想作者那些有时冗长的句子怎样缩短：如果只为简洁而写，你会删掉什么？哪些部分完全必要？这些改写是否必要？所给例子是否重要到必须保留？原文说“陈词滥调很难、常常无法避免，因为它们来得太容易而不被注意，又显得太必要而难以舍弃”，可缩成“陈词滥调无法总能避免”。原文说“写作者的工作是不断挣扎着把正确的词放到正确的位置，找到那个能精确传达意思、能说服读者或安抚他、或让他吃惊、或逗他笑的特定词语”，可缩成“每种情境都需要一个带有特定含义的特定词语；写作者辛苦寻找它”。原文没问题，是极好的写作；只是让人想到，词语高尔夫可能和代码高尔夫一样有趣：表达这个确切意思的最短写法是什么？
David查看英文原文
The headings speak for themselves: "Avoid the obvious content" "Take the less usual side" "Slip out of abstraction" "Get rid of obvious padding" "Call a fool a fool" "Beware of pat expressions" "Colorful words" "Colored words" "Colorless words" Though [edit] the titles are a good summary of the article [/edit] (as per "slip out of abstraction") the examples given are humorous, thorough, and help in really getting the point being made. It's interesting to consider how the author's (sometimes verbose) sentences could be shortened. If writing for pure conciseness, what would you cut out? Which parts are completely necessary? Are the rephrasings necessary to convey the different aspects of the current point? Is the example given important enough to stay? "Pat expressions are hard, often impossible, to avoid, because they come too easily to be noticed and seem too necessary to be dispensed with." => "Pat expressions cannot always be avoided." "A writer's work is a constant struggle to get the right word in the right place, to find that particular word that will convey his meaning exactly, that will persuade the reader or soothe him or startle or amuse him." => "Each situation calls for a certain word with a certain connotation; the writer toils to find it." Again, there's no problem -- it's excellent writing, it just struck me that word golf could be as interesting as code golf. What is the shortest possible phrasing to express this exact idea? (I suppose we're doing it all the time, except in English classes where word count is the goal.)
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