文案与商业写作2012listsofnote.com编辑精选
大卫·奥格威谈如何写作
How to Write by David Ogilvy
导读
这是广告大师大卫·奥格威关于写作的经典短文（经 listsofnote 转载），核心主张是：别用装腔作势的行话，用简单词，让每个词都发挥作用。评论里既有对"行话伪装聪明"的亲身例证，也有对"像说话一样写"这条建议的质疑，还有为"大词"辩护的反方声音，适合写作者对照自己的用词习惯读一读。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
删掉故作高深的行话：能用"defined"就别用"definitized"，长而晦涩的词往往是装腔作势的信号。
- 02
让每个词都发挥作用：能删的字就删，简洁不是简陋，而是对读者时间的尊重。
- 03
"像说话一样写"不等于把口语原样抄下来——多数人的口语啰嗦含混，要保留的是自然的节奏，去掉的是废话。
- 04
近义词要用得准而不是用得炫：恰当的替换能让文字更锋利，生僻词堆砌只会让读者读不下去。
HN 评论精选
用长而生僻的词是装腔作势；让每个词都发挥作用、不浪费读者时间，才是真正的写作修养。
文章里说"永远别用 reconceptualize、demassification 这类行话，它们是装腔作势者的标志"。我在 NASA 做航天飞机项目的工程师时，遇到一位经理特别偏爱"definitized"（其实"defined"就够了），一有机会就用，我怎么劝都改不掉。后来才知道，他相信聪明人、重要人物就该用聪明、重要的词——也就是比实际需要更长、更生僻的词。多年后听到一位美国总统坚称自己被"misunderestimated"，我才意识到问题越来越严重。这些建议看似过时，但经典文体书《The Elements of Style》（俗称 Strunk & White）给了很多实用规则，我印象最深的一条是"让每个词都发挥作用"——适用于句子的道理，同样适用于句子里的每个词。我把文字简洁看作对读者的尊重：你不打算用臃肿的废话浪费他的时间。
lutusp查看英文原文
A quote from the article: "Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass." When I worked as a NASA engineer on the Space Shuttle, I met a manager who was fond of the word "definitized" (where "defined" would have done as well) and he would use it whenever possible. In spite of my persistence, I never managed to wean him from this usage. It eventually came out that he believed smart people, important people, used smart, important words, by which he meant words longer and more obscure than their meaning required. This was, of course, years before I heard a U.S. President insist that he was "misunderestimated." It was then that I realized the problem was getting worse. This advice may seem out-of-date, but a classic style book named "The Elements of Style", popularly known as "Strunk & White", offers many useful writing rules. The rule I find most memorable and useful is "make every word count." What applies to a sentence, applies with equal justice to the sentence's words. I see concision in writing as a sign of respect for your reader -- you don't plan to waste his time with obese verbiage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style
"像说话一样写"容易被误读：多数人的口语本身并不适合直接变成文章。
"像你说话那样自然地写"——这话有问题。大多数人自然说话的水平相当差，有些话出口时就不通顺，写成文字读回来让人头疼。他大概不是字面意思上的"把你说的话原样写下来"，但我和很多人多年来就是这么理解的。
mgkimsal查看英文原文
"Write the way you talk. Naturally." WTF... He probably means something different than what he's saying here. The way most people talk naturally is pretty poor. It often doesn't even make sense when they're saying it out loud - reading it back in written form can be headache-inducing. He's probably not saying "write exactly what you would say out loud", but that's the takeaway I got from it, and probably many others have too over the years.
反方观点：不必一概排斥"大词"，用准的近义词能提升文字的精度和力度。
空话，经不起推敲。用得恰当的近义词能给文字增色，读起来更愉悦，也比剃刀还锋利。我宁可要我的"大词"，也不要奥格威之流沾手之后广告文案里遍地的那种没灵魂的万金油套话。
tomelders查看英文原文
Vapid nonsense that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. A well placed synonym can do wonders for a piece of text, making it a pleasure to read and sharper than a razors edge. I'll take my highfalutin words over the soulless all-inclusive drivel that's infested ad-copy since the likes of David Ogilvy got their sweaty mitts on it. Also, I don't know what the work ethic was like in 1982, but in 2012, if you want something done make damn sure you've got a paper trail.
奥格威的广告写作著作至今仍是该领域经典，值得延伸阅读。
《奥格威谈广告》（Ogilvy on Advertising）三十年后仍然是广告类最好的书之一。
keiferski查看英文原文
Ogilvy on Advertising is still one of the best books on advertising, ~30 years later. http://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X/
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