My friend Saloni Dattani recently wrote a good piece on her approach to writing. I follow many of the same rules: that criticism of style is not to be taken personally, that nuance can be the focus, and that it’s better to be precise than sound clever. I especially agree with the notion that it’s on the writer to be understood rather than on the reader to understand. Reading’s already hard work. It’s the writer’s job to make it as easy as possible.
Interesting. I would never just start to throw stuff on a page. I compose while I'm on a walk or a bike ride, and I revise in my head a lot. The writing part is just transcribing.
If I need to interrupt writing for any reason (maybe it's a point I want to research, or maybe it's some unrelated distraction), I jot down a few key words to remind me what I was planning to write next.
Great points on writing. I've been using the 4 xs for years but i also colour code my uncertainties in red. The main trouble now is to stop writing 4 books at a time.
And also - I can only second your approach. My writing usually looks like a mess of *bolded* XXXXses and numerous [sidenotes in curly brackets about something I need to maybe elaborate on but I really should decide later as I cannot go down every rabbit hole that pops to my mind].
And it somehow works, which still surprises me. Gotta be honest - writing is the most mentally excruciating work I have come upon. When programming I can probably focus for 5-6 hours with some breaks. Writing? After two hours all I have left is a mental capacity of a half-frozen potato.
Recently I've been using voice to text transcription software to write. I think about what I want to say, i speak slowly and clearly, nit just for the software, but to think carefully about the ideas. I only keep an eye on the transcription to ensure it doesn't miss anything, ignoring the misspellings. It's like I'm having a conversation with a friend, mulling my ideas out loud.
I find this technique a real time saver, i get ideas out much quicker, and it works at the speed my mind works - not at how fast i can type. Which is approximately 35-40 words per minute, but i think a bit faster, and I'm often watching what I type, which is distracting.
Interesting. I would never just start to throw stuff on a page. I compose while I'm on a walk or a bike ride, and I revise in my head a lot. The writing part is just transcribing.
If I need to interrupt writing for any reason (maybe it's a point I want to research, or maybe it's some unrelated distraction), I jot down a few key words to remind me what I was planning to write next.
First of all, congratulations!
I like that framing, of how to notice when you should be researching and when you should be writing.
Hey congratulations!
Great points on writing. I've been using the 4 xs for years but i also colour code my uncertainties in red. The main trouble now is to stop writing 4 books at a time.
Best wishes to you.
I love the article, Anton. Researching (too much of it, such that I don't know how to stop) and editing is exactly what holds my writing back!
Congratulations and mazeltov on your marriage!
Well said! (And congrats!)
Congratulations
Congrats!
And also - I can only second your approach. My writing usually looks like a mess of *bolded* XXXXses and numerous [sidenotes in curly brackets about something I need to maybe elaborate on but I really should decide later as I cannot go down every rabbit hole that pops to my mind].
And it somehow works, which still surprises me. Gotta be honest - writing is the most mentally excruciating work I have come upon. When programming I can probably focus for 5-6 hours with some breaks. Writing? After two hours all I have left is a mental capacity of a half-frozen potato.
Recently I've been using voice to text transcription software to write. I think about what I want to say, i speak slowly and clearly, nit just for the software, but to think carefully about the ideas. I only keep an eye on the transcription to ensure it doesn't miss anything, ignoring the misspellings. It's like I'm having a conversation with a friend, mulling my ideas out loud.
I find this technique a real time saver, i get ideas out much quicker, and it works at the speed my mind works - not at how fast i can type. Which is approximately 35-40 words per minute, but i think a bit faster, and I'm often watching what I type, which is distracting.