写作方法2010theatlantic.com
可能改变写作面貌的简单软件
The Simple Software That Could--But Probably Won't--Change the Face of Writing
导读
这篇文章讨论一种简单的软件（类似 Etherpad 的时间轴回放/版本历史）本可以改变写作方式，但多半不会——因为多数作者并不想保留自己的旧版本。对写作者来说，它提出的问题很实在：写作过程本身值不值得被记录、回看和复盘，以及这种记录对论说文和虚构写作分别意味着什么。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
试着录下自己写一篇中等长度文章的全程再回放，你会清楚看到自己在哪一步开始失去组织，这比凭空反省更容易找到改进点。
- 02
写论说文时要保留来源和修改记录，帮助自己始终紧扣论点；写虚构时反而要主动忘掉灵感出处，否则容易写成别人的同人文。
- 03
推进故事时多问"接下来会发生什么"，而不是套用固定公式，公式化写作会让作品失去活力。
- 04
长篇作品（尤其是书）值得用版本管理工具留存每一次修订，既方便回溯，也让修改过程本身成为可研究的材料。
HN 评论精选
回放并复盘自己的写作过程，能暴露组织混乱的问题，是改进写作的实用方法。
文章里给了链接，你可以在这里观看作者写这篇文章的全程回放。看别人的写作过程、再跟自己的对比很有意思，尤其当对方写作量远大于我时。我写这种中等长度的文章时，很快就变得非常混乱。我觉得录下自己的写作过程、看清自己到底在做什么，再据此改进，会很有价值。
samdk查看英文原文
This is linked in the article, but you can watch the author write this article here: http://ietherpad.com/ep/pad/view/somers-atlantic/latest It's really interesting to watch someone else's writing process and see how that compares to mine. (Especially when that someone does a lot more writing than I do.) I find that when I'm writing a mid-length essay like this I tend to get very disorganized very quickly. I think it'd be valuable to try to record myself and see what, exactly, I'm doing, and then try to use that to improve.
论说文要记住来源以紧扣论点，虚构要忘掉来源以免变成同人；靠"接下来会怎样"推进比套公式更有生命力。
对论说文来说，修改数据库很有用，它们由一个个要素构成，服务于协作论证。但写虚构时我不想记住自己从哪来：如果太清楚灵感的来源，就有整段照搬的风险，而不是把它变成自己的东西并加以发展。写一个男孩去魔法学校的故事，盯着明显的来源写就成了《哈利·波特》同人，避开明显的来源又难免写成《地海》同人。论说文作者需要记住来源以紧扣主题，虚构作者需要忘掉来源、迷失在文学的森林里。斯蒂芬·金拿到一个点子就问"接下来会发生什么"；阿西莫夫套用公式，很多作品因此很弱。
electromagnetic查看英文原文
For essays, a revision database is useful. They're constructed of elements, single arguments for a collaborative effort to prove an argument or illustrate a point. When I write fiction, I don't want to remember where I came from. If I remember my source of an idea too well, I risk full out plagiarizing an idea instead of making it my own and building on it. I can't write a story about a boy going to a magical school and focus too heavy on the obvious source without making a fanfic of Harry Potter, and you can't focus on the less obvious source without making a fanfic of Earthsea. An essayist needs to remember their source to stay on point. A fictionist needs to forget the source and get lost in the literary woods. You build a universe and have an adventure. Stephen King for example finds an idea and simply asks "what happens now?" Asimov had the problem that he played the formulaic method and some of his stories were extremely weak because of the lack of freedom. He dedicated his whole work to the source, and only really succeeded because his ideas were at least original. However, Asimov is my personal least favourite of the great SF writers. I'll drop dead for any Arthur C. Clark or any Heinlein, but I'll get bored with the vast majority of Asimovs work because it's so A,B,C formula that it kills the fun.
长篇作品尤其需要不打扰式的版本管理，修改历史本身也有学术价值。
（这是自我推广，但希望相关。）我们 Leanpub 不同意文章"作者不需要旧版本"的观点，赞同 Etherpad 做时间轴的方向：我们用 Git 管理所有书籍修订，但以不打扰作者的方式实现。这对随笔长度或许可有可无，但对书我们认为是必要的。试想《尤利西斯》若是用版本控制写成的，对学术研究的贡献会有多大。
peterarmstrong查看英文原文
(This is self-promotional, but hopefully relevant. Please downvote if you disagree.) At Leanpub we fundamentally disagree with the point of this article [that writers don't want their old versions], and agree with what Etherpad was going for with the time slider: we use Git for all the book revisions (both with our in-browser editor or via a direct interface to GitHub), but we do this in an unobtrusive way. (We'll probably expose a similar time slider eventually, but for git revisions.) While this may or may not be needed for writing of essay length, we feel it is essential for books. Also, imagine the contribution to scholarship if, say, Ulysses had been written with version control...
同类还值得读
被低估的工程技能：把文章写好
Undervalued Engineering Skills: Writing Well
这篇文章讨论为什么“写得好”是被低估的工程能力，以及它如何在团队协作、系统设计和职业发展中持续带来回报。
写作方法2019 · 1,109 分 · 371 评4 条写作要点编辑精选每行只写一句话：让写作和修改都更轻松的排版法
Writing one sentence per line
这是 Derek Sivers 的一篇短文，主张写作时每行只放一个句子，而不是按段落排版。
写作方法2022 · 849 分 · 297 评4 条写作要点编辑精选书面沟通是远程工作的超级能力
Written communication is remote work super power
这篇文章讨论远程工作中书面沟通的价值，评论区则补充了异步与同步沟通的适用场景，并提醒读者：备忘录、结论先行、结构化命令格式等书面沟通传统早已有之。
写作方法2020 · 831 分 · 190 评4 条写作要点编辑精选如何写出有用的文字
How to Write Usefully
保罗·格雷厄姆在这篇文章里给"有用的写作"下了一个可操作的公式：有用≈重要×新颖×正确×清楚，任一项为零，整篇文章就等于零；他还主张敢下确定判断、删掉让自己心虚的句子。
写作方法2020 · 821 分 · 285 评4 条写作要点编辑精选如何写得更清楚、想得更清楚，并学会复杂材料（PDF）
How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]
这份 PDF 讨论如何把文章写清楚、把思路理清楚，并用写作来学习复杂材料。
写作方法2022 · 779 分 · 153 评4 条写作要点编辑精选