写作方法2022economist.com编辑精选
想成为更好的写作者，该读什么
What to read to become a better writer
导读
《经济学人》推荐的"想成为更好的写作者该读什么"书单帖下，评论者给出了比书单更实用的经验：读好书只能教会你如何使用自己已有的天赋，真正的进步来自广泛阅读后刻意模仿、写完放一放再重读修改，以及大胆发布。适合所有想提升文笔、又厌倦了空泛写作建议的人读。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把写完的稿子放一段时间再重读，你会发现自己表达含糊、情绪化或夹带偏见的地方，往往需要整段重写。
- 02
找一个你欣赏的作者，动手抄写他的段落，借此找到自己的声音；为此要先广泛阅读，筛出值得模仿的人。
- 03
下笔前先想清楚：你要真实还是讨好、说服还是激励、逗乐还是对抗？这些目标常常互相冲突，承认冲突后再平静地做取舍。
- 04
用词要简单，但别写得平淡——节奏、语气、选词、句式和俗语才是让简单语言不呆板的东西。
- 05
光读不写不会进步：隔一段时间按一次"发布"键，就像不能靠读棒球书学会投球。
- 06
对任何写作建议都保留一分怀疑，包括这一条。
HN 评论精选
写作进步靠的是模仿、练习和公开输出，而不是只读写作建议。
我不靠写作谋生，但写作让我得以谋生。几条通用建议：所有建议都要打个折扣；写作都是个人的、阅读都是主观的，没有人视角完美，要愿意犯错；先想清楚你是为真实还是为流行而写，为说服还是为激励，为逗乐还是为对抗，这些目标常冲突，接受冲突再从容选择；人人都爱简单的语言，但别写得寡淡，节奏、语气、选词、修辞和俗语正是价值所在；抄别人的文章确实是找到自己声音的办法，所以要多读，找出值得抄的人，一般要避开那些愤怒说教的写作导师；要练，偶尔按下发布键——你不能靠读棒球书进洋基队。
harrylove查看英文原文
[insert Sean Bean “One does not simply read to become…” meme] I don’t make a living as a writer but writing has made my living. Here’s my advice to improve as a writer in general, not as a writer of a specific genre or purpose, and not to improve a specific piece of writing. 0. All advice needs salt. 1. Recognize that all writing is personal and all reading is subjective. No one has a perfect lens. Be willing to be wrong. Even if you’re right, guaranteed someone else thinks you’re wrong. 2. Are you writing to be authentic or writing to be popular? Writing to persuade or to inspire? To amuse or confront? All of those may be in conflict at times. Recognize and accept the conflict, then make your choices in peace. See rule #1. 3. Everyone loves simple language. 4. But try not to be bland. This is the value of rhythm, voice, word choice, tropes and schemes, idioms, patterns, and so on. 5. There really is something to copying other people’s writing as a way of finding your own writing voice. So you need to read widely to find people worth copying. In general, avoid the angry advice writers. 6. Practice. Click the Publish button once in a while. You don’t end up pitching for the Yankees by reading about baseball. 7. Writing is pretty fantastic, isn’t it? 8. Language evolves. Just like foxes and toaster ovens. Accept it. Thank people for their critique of your apparent misuse of language and then please continue challenging the rules. 9. 10. Leave something to the imagination. Think of it like an offering to the gods. 11. No one cares about your writing as much as you do. See rule #1.
阅读只能教会你如何使用自己已有的天赋，否则学到的只是僵硬的模仿。
叔本华《论阅读与书籍》：阅读有文采的作者并不能让你获得文采——说服力、想象力、善用比喻、大胆或辛辣、简洁或优雅、文思敏捷或机智、出人意料的对比、简练、天真等等，都读不来。但如果你本来就有这些禀赋（只是潜在），阅读能帮你把它们唤出、带入意识，看清该用在哪里，坚定使用的倾向，借范例判断效果，从而学会正确使用——只有走完这一步，你才真正拥有它们。这是阅读唯一能塑造写作的方式：它教你把天赋用在何处。若本无这些品质，你只能学到冷漠僵硬的做派，成为纯粹的模仿者。
montefischer查看英文原文
From Schopenhauer's essay, "On reading and books": > No literary quality can be attained by reading writers who possess it: be it, for example, persuasiveness, imagination, the gift of drawing comparisons, boldness or bitterness, brevity or grace, facility of expression or wit, unexpected contrasts, a laconic manner, naïveté, and the like. But if we are already gifted with these qualities—that is to say, if we possess them potentia—we can call them forth and bring them to consciousness; we can discern to what uses they are to be put; we can be strengthened in our inclination, nay, may have courage, to use them; we can judge by examples the effect of their application and so learn the correct use of them; and it is only after we have accomplished all this that we actu possess these qualities. This is the only way in which reading can form writing, since it teaches us the use to which we can put our own natural gifts; and in order to do this it must be taken for granted that these qualities are in us. Without them we learn nothing from reading but cold, dead mannerisms, and we become mere imitators. Gutenberg link: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11945/11945-h/11945-h.htm#link2H_4_0007
写完放一段时间再重读，是发现含糊、情绪和偏见的最有效办法。
我发现重读自己写的东西帮助极大。我们常常意识不到自己写得多含糊、埋了多少偏见，直到在脱离当时心境的情况下再读一遍。所以重要邮件应该先写完，放一放再重读——你常会整篇重写，因为原来的信息不清楚、太情绪化或太有攻击性。
koheripbal查看英文原文
I have found re-reading my own writing helps tremendously. We often do not appreciate how vague we are and how many biases we embed in our writing until we read them again outside of our current mindset. This is why portant emails should be composed, and then wait until later before re-reading. You will often find yourself rewriting entire communications because your original message was unclear/emotional/combative/etc...
读作家的书信与谈写作的文字，价值在于进入作家的思维方式，对创意写作尤其有用。
今年帮我提升写作的两本书是《布考斯基论写作》和《冯内古特书信集》。它们与其说是教怎么写，不如说是让人窥见两位好作家的头脑，帮我跨过了一些写作障碍。如果你想提升的是工作文档写作，它们可能用处不大；但对创意写作非常棒。
trenning查看英文原文
Two books which I read this year that have helped me become a better writer are, Charles Bukowski On Writing Kurt Vonnegut Letters These books aren’t so much about how to write better but more so a look into the minds of two good authors. Helped me get over some of the hurdles of writing. Probably not very useful if you’re looking to be an improved work document writer but for creative writing they were great.
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