5 ms·
How to say nothing in 500 words
- messel 17y agoI needed this article as a daily blogger. Thanks for the save. I'm a terribly abstract, generalist. I'm surprised more readers haven't gouged their eyes out after reading my work.
- youngian 17y agoHi, my name is Ian, and I don't always omit needless words. I'm so sorry.
- mrshoe 17y agoDon't miss George Orwell's take on this subject: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm
- est 17y agoThere's a term in Chinese to describe this, it's called 八股文 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-legged_essay http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-legged_essay The funny part is, it's invented about the same time as English language :)
- Eliezer 17y agoRule 1: Find subject matter that actually is interesting. Rule 2: Find subject matter that the reader doesn't already know about. There. Your job just got 300% easier.
- pmichaud 17y agoNot 305%?
- decode 17y agoOn the one hand, the linked essay is addressing a restrictive situation: sometimes you are asked to write on a particular subject for a particular audience, and you don't have a choice. This can happen in the classroom, on the job, or at a family reunion. It's a useful skill to be able to write well in that situation. On the other hand, the linked essay gives the same advice you do. If you're given a topic you find boring, find something about it that's interesting. If you're writing for an informed reader, write something even the informed reader hasn't seen before.
- mmt 17y agoIt's a useful skill to be able to write well in that situation. I guess I'm of a class of people who disagree with this assertion. My counter-assertion is that all contrived writing is a waste of time, both for the writer and a reader. Early in school, I had a tendency to procrastinate such assignments. What I found useful from these experiences was recognizing the fundamental distastefulness early and giving myself permission simply not to do it. One always has a choice.
- decode 17y ago"I guess I'm of a class of people who disagree with this assertion. My counter-assertion is that all contrived writing is a waste of time, both for the writer and a reader." I disagree with you in two ways. First, what I described is not "contrived writing". Just because it's uninteresting doesn't mean it's not useful. Neither the report your boss wants, nor the descriptions of activities for the family reunion, are contrived. They're useful documents that are boring to write and unexciting to read. Your pleasure is not the final word on the value of an activity. Second, contrived writing can be a great use of time. Contrived exercises are useful for improving your skills in many different fields. From soccer, to engineering, to martial arts, to penmanship, to mathematics, to knitting, contrived exercises perform a very useful function: they're controlled, limited exercises to practice a particular skill. They give you safety (because they're not dangerous to your health or reputation) and allow you to focus on a small part of the full skill set. And finally, one always has a choice, but there are consequences for one's choices. If you refuse to write that boring report for your boss, you might lose your job. If you refuse to write the paper for class, you might fail the class, and not get to take the classes you are more interested in. If you don't do the soccer drills, you won't have the ball-handling skills during the game. Sometimes the trade-off between the temporary pain of boring work and the reward it brings is worth the pain.
- Semiapies 17y agoAs someone once said, "Omit needless words!"
- epe 17y agoThe second half reminds me of one of my all-time favorite pieces of writing advice, Orwell's Politics and the English Language: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm
- gkoberger 17y agoI found it odd that there was no conclusion or summary- it just ended. It was a great read with a lot of great advice, however I felt it ended in an anticlimactic way.
- youngian 17y agoThe tragic part is that our schooling system often punishes the creative, rich writing the author advocates. The good teachers may recognize it and reward it, but the bad teachers will just take points off because you are "missing an introductory paragraph." This is why standardized writing tests hold a special place in my bitter heart - they codify the fear of deviation and require you to spew mediocre crap - as long as it's mediocre crap spelled correctly with a topic sentence in each paragraph.
- vico 17y agoi love you.