写作方法2014news.ycombinator.com编辑精选
怎样才能在 Hacker News 上写得这么好？
How do you get to write so well in HN?
导读
一位英语非母语的读者在 HN 上看到别人表达得清晰有力，怀疑自己永远达不到这种水平，于是发帖求教。回帖给出的答案相当务实：你看到的是上万人里的最高光时刻，不是平均水平；写作能力靠大量阅读和大量练笔，而不是天赋。对写作者来说，这是一份关于“如何把阅读变成写作训练”的朴素指南。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
你看到的 HN 高赞评论是几千上万人里的最优输出，别把别人的精选集当成自己的日常水平来比较。
- 02
给自己定一条硬规则：读完一篇就留一条评论，哪怕不想写，写的过程会逼你把理解从表层推进到能说清楚。
- 03
想练语感就多读好的虚构作品，语言模式靠大量输入被动吸收，不必逐句分析。
- 04
每次写作只盯住一条具体技法去改（例如“宁可具体不要笼统”），改完再发，比泛泛地“努力写好”有效。
HN 评论精选
HN 上的高赞评论是万里挑一的最优输出，不是平均水平，别拿它当自我评价的标尺。
这里有个幸存者偏差，Facebook 上也是一样。你刷信息流时，每天总看到至少一个朋友做了了不起或有趣的事，于是觉得自己在虚度人生。但换个角度想：如果你有 365 个朋友，而你一年只发一条有趣的内容，你的表现就已经和他们的平均水平持平了。你只是看到了别人发出来的高光，没人会发“今天很无聊，我什么都没干”。HN 也一样。一万个人看一个帖子，按统计总有人懂法国大革命或 L2 缓存的细节，最懂的人有话说才去评论，绝大多数人不会说话；而置顶评论又是其中写得最好、最有见地的。换成我去评论 L2 缓存，只会暴露自己一无所知，所以我就不去评论。
mixmax查看英文原文
There's a fallacy here, and interestingly it's also at play on facebook. You know when you look through your feed on facebook, and every single day you see that at least one of your friends has done something amazing, commendable or just interesting? That makes you feel that you aren't doing anything with your life, and that all your friends seem to be living more interesting and happier lives. But stop and think for a moment. Approach it from the other side. If you have 365 friends, and you post one interesting post a year you are faring as well as the average of your friends. It just seems that everyone is doing more interesting things than you because you only notice the interesting things your friends post. You only see the highlights. Nobody posts a "today was boring - I did absolutely nothing" status. HN is the same. Think a bit about it. If 10.000 people see a comment thread then statistically someone will be knowledgeable about the subject, whether its the French Revolution or the finer nuances of L2 caching. The most knowledgeable ones will feel they have something to contribute and write a comment. The vast majority won't. On top of that the top comment is (supposedly) the most well-written, eloquent and knowledgeable, and can thus be argued to be the best 10.000 people can come up with. If I were to start commenting on threads about L2 caches I would make an absolute fool of myself, and prove to everyone that I have no clue what I'm talking about. So I don't.
用“读一篇就必须评一篇”的硬规则，把消费逼成产出，写作和研究能力都随之提升。
很多人都有这种感受，朋友也跟我提过。HN 聚集了很多聪明人，包括你自己，容易让人产生不够好的感觉，但不该这样，每个人都在成长，你也能写好。任何技能都有能快速见效的小窍门，也有该走的成熟路径，但学技能最好的方式终究是大量练习。我给自己的规则是基于价值观：我看重产出多于消费，所以规定只要在社交媒体上读了一个帖子，就必须留一条评论，没有例外。我几乎从不想评论，但写完总是庆幸自己写了。这对成为更好的写作者和研究者极有帮助，逼你钻进那些平时只会浅尝辄止的东西。
Lambdanaut查看英文原文
Great question. I think it's on more people's minds than you think. I have friends that have brought this feeling up with me. HN brings a lot of great minds together, including your own. It can create feelings of inadequacy in many readers, but it shouldn't. Everyone is always growing. You can write well too. As with any skill, there are specific quick hacks you can apply to get a lot of gain really fast, and there are well-worn paths that you should travel to maximize gains and minimize time spent. Regardless, the best way to learn any skill is through sheer practice. My methodology for posting comments on HN or any social news site is based on my values. I value production over consumption, and so to curb my consumption and increase my production I created a rule for myself: If I read a post on social media(HN, reddit, etc), I have to leave a comment on it. No ifs ands or buts. I almost never actually want to comment, but by the time I'm done commenting I'm always glad I did. This is amazing for becoming a better writer and researcher, and forces you to dive into things that you normally would only attain a surface-level understanding of. Every time I decide to go to a social media site, I have to be very conscious of the titles I click on to read. I understand that the moment I begin reading an article, I am committed to adding something of value to the discussion. Sometimes I wind up clicking on an article that is way out of my domain-knowledge, and so I have to read WAY more about it before I can even try to add to the discussion. I end up learning far more and also upping my ability to explain and present myself in situations where I'm uncomfortable with the domain. So while I encourage you to practice your writing, I also encourage you to limit your consumption, strongly link your consumption with your practice, and most importantly, step out of your domain knowledge and never be afraid to learn something new.
阅读是写作的隐性训练，缺少练习环境时读英文小说同样能提升表达。
英语显得能说会道的人，大多不只花了很多时间写，也花了很多时间读。阅读会让你被动吸收语言模式；读优秀作者的作品，哪怕不做分析，也能学到他们的一些技巧（我想你的母语里大概也一样）。如果你觉得没有对话环境练口语和写作，不妨把原本用来练英语写作的时间，拿去读英文小说。
enkiv2查看英文原文
Most people who come off as eloquent in english have spent a lot of time not only writing but also reading. Reading encourages passive learning of language patterns, and reading the works of talented writers (even without analysis) can lead to learning some of the skills that those writers use. (I'd be surprised if this were not also the case in your native language.) If you feel like you can't get enough practice speaking and writing english in a conversational context, spend some of the time you would otherwise use to practice writing english instead reading fiction in english.
写作靠习惯而非意志力，配合《The Elements of Style》每次只练一条具体规则并据此修改。
我本职就是写作者，加入 HN 之后，我在评论区写的字数大概是其他任何论坛或发表渠道的十倍。我不敢说自己在刻意练习，但这里的讨论通常很有趣，很容易养成习惯，就像踢着玩足球往往比严格执行跑步计划更能健身。如果英语和写作不是你投入过很多时间的领域，除了常评论，我推荐一本《The Elements of Style》：每次写 HN 评论或博客时挑一条规则专门练，比如第 12 条“宁具体勿笼统，宁确定勿含糊，宁具象勿抽象”。例如“他拿走应得的奖赏时露出满意的神情”改成“他把那枚硬币揣进口袋，咧嘴笑了”。写完按这条技法改一遍，反复循环。另外，建议别用匿名马甲，换一个实名的账号。
danso查看英文原文
My main profession has been a writer...and since joining HN, I've probably written 10x more words on these comment boards than for any other forum or published medium. I can't say that I'm actively trying to practice...but discussion here is (usually) so enjoyable that it's easy to get in the habit...just like playing recreational soccer for fun can often be a better way to get in shape than a dedicated running regimen. If English and writing is not something you've been able to devote yourself to, I would recommend something in addition to frequent commenting: pick up a copy of "The Elements of Style" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style) and as you write comments on HN (or blog posts)...pick a rule in Elements of Style and focus on the technique mentioned. For example, rule 12, Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract. e.g. "He showed satisfaction as he took possession of his well-earned reward" versus "He grinned as he pocketed the coin". Look over your comment and revise it according to the technique. Rinse, repeat, etc. Elements of Style is an old book, but I still find it to be great advice. I've thought about making such a book for programming in a high level language (I know such a book exists for C/C++)...because good style can really influence good function. Also, assuming that you're using a throwaway profile for this comment, make a profile with your real name and identity. This has been discussed on HN before, but being accountable to your identity is a nice push to make you even more attentive to your quality of writing.
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