写作方法2020paulgraham.com编辑精选
写作，简短地说（2005）
Writing, Briefly (2005)
导读
这是 Paul Graham 2005 年的一篇短文，把他关于写作的建议压缩成一份速查清单：先快速写出一版糟糕的初稿，再反复改写、删减，用口语化语气，靠模仿和朗读培养语感。评论区补充了这条核心信念：好文章来自好修改。对任何要写邮件、文章或文案的人都实用。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
先一口气写完糟糕的第一版，别在开头就追求完美；改总比从零写容易。
- 02
写完放几天再回头删改，凡是不必要的内容都砍掉，不要怕删。
- 03
大声朗读自己的稿子，哪里读着别扭、哪里读得让人犯困，问题就藏在那里。
- 04
写作前把想法告诉朋友，再把说出口的话记下来；80% 的想法是在动笔之后才出现的。
HN 评论精选
先写出初稿，哪怕很差，才有东西可改。
一位哲学教授曾告诉我：“记住，你没法修改‘什么都没有’，但你可以修改‘一堆烂东西’。”这条建议不只适用于写作。
lemonberry查看英文原文
One of my philosophy professors told me once, "Remember: you can't edit nothing, but you can edit shit". Advice that's valuable beyond writing.
好文章靠重写；有读者时打磨才划算。
非常赞同需要反复重写。罗伯特·格雷夫斯有句话：“没有所谓的好文笔，只有好的重写。”可惜日常写的大多是邮件这类一次性内容，不值得精雕细琢；但一旦有超过一个读者，尤其是营销文案和网页文案，花时间打磨信息就非常值得。
ivan_ah查看英文原文
+1 about the need for rewriting. There's a really good quote about that: “There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.” — Robert Graves Unfortunately most of the writing we tend to do in the day-to-day is throwaway one-off stuff like emails, which are not worth polishing that much. As soon as you have a 1+ audience though, and especially for marketing and webcopy, investing the time to cleanup the message becomes super worth it.
Paul Graham 写作建议的完整清单，可当自查表。
把要点列成清单：尽快写出糟糕的第一版；一遍遍重写；删掉一切不必要的东西；用口语化的语气写；培养对烂文字的嗅觉，好在自己稿子里发现并修掉；模仿你喜欢的作者；写不动时先讲给别人听，再把你说的写下来；预料文章中 80% 的想法在动笔后才出现，而开头的想法有 50% 是错的；要有砍掉内容的自信；找信任的朋友读，指出哪里让人困惑或拖沓；别总是做详细大纲；动笔前把想法搁几天；随身带小本子；想到第一句话就开始写；如果截止日期逼你提前动笔，就先写出最重要的那句话；写你喜欢的东西；别试图显得厉害；随时可以中途换题目；用脚注收纳岔题；用首语重复把句子串起来；大声读稿，找出拗口处和让你不想读的段落；努力告诉读者新鲜有用的东西；用大块时间写作；重新开始时先重读已写部分；收尾时给自己留个容易接手的开头；为计划写的题目积累笔记。
jasonshen查看英文原文
The tips in bullet form: - Write a bad version 1 as fast as you can - rewrite it over and over - cut out everything unnecessary - write in a conversational tone - develop a nose for bad writing, so you can see and fix it in yours - imitate writers you like - if you can't get started, tell someone what you plan to write about, then write down what you said - expect 80% of the ideas in an essay to happen after you start writing it, and 50% of those you start with to be wrong - be confident enough to cut - have friends you trust read your stuff and tell you which bits are confusing or drag - don't (always) make detailed outlines - mull ideas over for a few days before writing - carry a small notebook or scrap paper with you - start writing when you think of the first sentence - if a deadline forces you to start before that, just say the most important sentence first - write about stuff you like - don't try to sound impressive - don't hesitate to change the topic on the fly - use footnotes to contain digressions - use anaphora to knit sentences together - read your essays out loud to see (a) where you stumble over awkward phrases and (b) which bits are boring (the paragraphs you dread reading) - try to tell the reader something new and useful - work in fairly big quanta of time - when you restart, begin by rereading what you have so far - when you finish, leave yourself something easy to start with - accumulate notes for topics you plan to cover at the bottom of the file - don't feel obliged to cover any of them - write for a reader who won't read the essay as carefully as you do, just as pop songs are designed to sound ok on crappy car radios - if you say anything mistaken, fix it immediately - ask friends which sentence you'll regret most - go back and tone down harsh remarks - publish stuff online, because an audience makes you write more, and thus generate more ideas - print out drafts instead of just looking at them on the screen - use simple, germanic words - learn to distinguish surprises from digressions - learn to recognize the approach of an ending, and when one appears, grab it.
推荐一本关于写作技艺的经典书。
斯蒂芬·金的《写作这回事》(On Writing) 对我帮助很大。
chrisseldo查看英文原文
A great book that helped me was "On Writing" by Stephen King. https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816
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