10 ms·

How to Write Articles and Essays Quickly and Expertly (2006)

337 points by ridruejo 9y ago

jstrieb 9y ago
I find it hard to take seriously any "prolific writer" who doesn't take the time to proofread their work for typos before publishing.
- hoodwink 9y ago
  This. I stopped reading at “lightening”. Funny aside: I looked up the word “lightening” to ensure it wasn’t an alternate spelling or something. It’s not. Instead, it means: > A drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis.
  - davidhakendel 9y ago
    > A drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis. The word lightening can also mean 1) to make something lighter or 2) the transfer of crude oil to a relatively larger tanker from a smaller in order to enter a port.
- jordanmoconnor 9y ago
  There's an 80/20 to everything. I think that style is more preference so you can focus on getting your thoughts out without getting distracted. I think a detailed outline does the same thing.
- jacobush 9y ago
  Still. Is there something more to the article?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- bap 9y ago
  Prolific, be definition, speaks to volume and not quality? How does proof-reading contradict? I would say that his lack of quality (dropped T on The ;] Yes I saw them too ) is perhaps supportive of his ability to be prolific "[...]make your first draft, your final draft." I understand that you are saying that quality of edit indicates quality of thought or insight to you.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - yesenadam 9y ago
    I thought they was saying there's a jarring disconnect between bragging about your writing ability in a sloppily-edited essay. I don't think it's hard to understand their point, is it? I think you were being gratuitously pedantic. "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize." Well, there is Muphry's law.[0] Which I notice you - but hopefully not I :-) - have here fallen afoul of. Although you wrote in defence of bad proofreading; maybe there's another law for that. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law
- yesenadam 9y ago
  Absolutely, couldn't agree more. Especially with his immodest tone. Well, there seem to be more errors getting through now people seem to rely on basic spell checkers e.g. 'he' and 'lightening' aren't caught. I often see such spelling mistakes in the kind of publications I never used to.
- ahartmetz 9y ago
  The whole style feels crude and inelegant, but the content seems useful. I don't think you are going to write carelessly like the author by following his advice, so the harm is limited.
mikkqu 9y ago
I personally have found the article pretty informative as I can relate to the topic very well. Takes me enormous amount of energy to write something that's more than a few random sentences together. There is a well-known fear of public speaking and in my case it's more like a fear of public writing. Still looking for an efficient way to break thoughts down into pieces and that's one way to approach it.
- gt_ 9y ago
  You're not alone. Public speaking is no problem for me, as it cuts out the middle man, or, the medium. Another comment points to the typos in this article in devaluing the author, while I secretly admire him for letting them slide. My threshold for typos is small, don't get me wrong, but enough years of unfinished essays behind me and I'll seek to learn from these masters (of efficiency, if nothing else).
joewee 9y ago
I had to write a weekly technology column for a number of years. The best method I found was to prepare a outline of the content you are going to write as a series of questions. For my column I used 5 questions in a logical progression. Example question might be "Why is this technology important to small businesses?" Once I defined the questions, I wrote in sprints without correcting grammar or spelling to answer each of the questions. Sprints were a few minutes, not more than 5. When I answered all of the questions I would go back and remove the questions and edit for flow and add references and supporting facts. Last would be a grammar check, but I relied on my editor to review that given that I was often writing on deadline. I produced more than 200 articles of 800-1000 words. Week over week even when I had writers block or no desire to write at all.
- raldu 9y ago
  The same approach works in presentations as well. By framing your speech as a series of key questions to be answered, your presentation feels more like a real "conversation," rather than just dumping some encyclopedic information in a textbook-like order.
  - joewee 9y ago
    Yes I learned the same thing in consulting, craft the narrative first.
- 1337biz 9y ago
  I once watched an obscure online course by some Canadian lawyer with a similar method for writing books that way. Wasn't by any chance your inspiration?
  - lawrencewu 9y ago
    Do you happen to know the name of the course? Very interested.
    - 1337biz 9y ago
munchbunny 9y ago
In my own experiences, the key to writing essays quickly and expertly is just writing a lot of essays and consciously trying to hone your craft. Writing is a complex skill that takes lots of time and attention in little incremental steps, and the further you go the faster/better you get. It's more than just practice though. It's also momentum. I find that the more I write, the more my brain passively seeks more material to write, and so I get faster at generating ideas and putting them on paper. This happens with programming too - the more I do, the faster I get at coming up with ideas and prototyping them. Same with sports, gaming, really everything that combines skill and creativity. I get more creative by just doing it more. Certainly there's real technique to writing quickly, but I've always found that my own biggest barrier was having something meaningful to say, and the fastest way to get into a rhythm of actually coming up with meaningful things to say was to just start putting words down in the first place. Which leads to the paradox: you become prolific by trying to be prolific.
- nmyk 9y ago
  Yep, as one of my fiction instructors once said: The more you do it, the more you do it.
projektir 9y ago
I enjoyed this article; it solidified some things I had a vague idea about in terms of how articles are structured.
flavio81 9y ago
How to write prolifically and expert-like? Why, by using the Postmodernism generator, of course! http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/ http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/ Hint: Hit refresh to generate a new essay.
rayalez 9y ago
Here's a common essay structure I've picked up on, from many sources(From Eliezer Yudkowsky's rationality articles to John Oliver's Last Week Tonight) 1. Introduce a problem/concept - can be a social issue, bias, or a useful cognitive tool. 2. Define/explain what it is. 3. Give several examples or studies. 4. Call to action - propose a solution, debiasing, or a practical real life application. Also add an intro that grabs attention and promises value. This seems to work well and I like it a lot, it gives me a pretty universal way to write on many subjects.
- glomph 9y ago
  A method I was taught at school for philosophy is very similar. DICE: Define - Introduce and explain the concept Illustrate - Give examples Contrast - Give contrasting examples or alternative points of view. Explain - Cover why the concept is interesting or significant or why we should care about it or why it is preferable to alternatives.
soyiuz 9y ago
1. Just as with code: read and write a lot. 2. Have models to emulate. 3. Learn the rules. 4. Clearly structure your sentences, paragraphs, and larger semantic units (essay, short story, etc.). 5. Edit extensively. 6. Be kind to your reader: concise and clear will always be better than wordy and vague. 7. Vary your word use, sentence length, phrase structure, and in general, rhythm. A mumbling monotone is difficult to comprehend. Read your drafts out loud just to make sure you have FLOW. 8. Don't be a pompous ass. I am very smart, is not a great way to start. Avoid being cute, pretentious, precious, ponderous, and otherwise fake. Develop your voice, which is how you sound to other people. 9. Ermm... formatting is an art of its own.
galaxyLogic 9y ago
Excellent article but I think it is missing one point, and why I think joewee in his comment is more right. Argument, Explanation, Definition, Description are not the only types of articles or essays. What's missing from the list is "Story". Story is something that is entertaining to read because it first creates some expectations, perhaps in the wrong direction on purpose like a good detective story. Then resolves the issues preferably in a non-obvious way. Therefore I believe joewee is right, it is best to structure your article based on a set of questions which should pique the interest of the reader.
Terretta 9y ago
For a self-writing timed exam essay, structure more simply: - Thing because reasons 1, 2, and 3. - Thing because Reason 1. Reason 1 elaborated. Supporting examples. - Thing because Reason 2. Reason 2 elaborated. Supporting examples. - Thing because Reason 3. Reason 3 elaborated. Supporting examples. - From reasons 1, 2, and 3, the thing. Paint by these numbers against the clock: - Divide time available by 5, e.g., 50 minute period, 5 intervals of 10 minutes. - Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em: Spend first 10 minutes thinking about the topic and write a thesis statement based on three persuasive reasons you can support with examples from what you remember about the topic. (10 mins) - Tell 'em (x3): Spend each of the next 10 minute blocks writing a paragraph connecting that part, elaborating on the reason, then providing as many supporting examples as you can fit in the ten minutes. (3 x 10 mins) - Tell 'em what you told 'em: Write a compelling conclusion based on the reasons. Spend any leftover time proof-reading. (10 mins)

337 points by ridruejo 9y ago

I find it hard to take seriously any "prolific writer" who doesn't take the time to proofread their work for typos before publishing.

hoodwink 9y ago
This. I stopped reading at “lightening”. Funny aside: I looked up the word “lightening” to ensure it wasn’t an alternate spelling or something. It’s not. Instead, it means: > A drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis.
- davidhakendel 9y ago
  > A drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis. The word lightening can also mean 1) to make something lighter or 2) the transfer of crude oil to a relatively larger tanker from a smaller in order to enter a port.
jordanmoconnor 9y ago
There's an 80/20 to everything. I think that style is more preference so you can focus on getting your thoughts out without getting distracted. I think a detailed outline does the same thing.
jacobush 9y ago
Still. Is there something more to the article?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
bap 9y ago
Prolific, be definition, speaks to volume and not quality? How does proof-reading contradict? I would say that his lack of quality (dropped T on The ;] Yes I saw them too ) is perhaps supportive of his ability to be prolific "[...]make your first draft, your final draft." I understand that you are saying that quality of edit indicates quality of thought or insight to you.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- yesenadam 9y ago
  I thought they was saying there's a jarring disconnect between bragging about your writing ability in a sloppily-edited essay. I don't think it's hard to understand their point, is it? I think you were being gratuitously pedantic. "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize." Well, there is Muphry's law.[0] Which I notice you - but hopefully not I :-) - have here fallen afoul of. Although you wrote in defence of bad proofreading; maybe there's another law for that. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law
yesenadam 9y ago
Absolutely, couldn't agree more. Especially with his immodest tone. Well, there seem to be more errors getting through now people seem to rely on basic spell checkers e.g. 'he' and 'lightening' aren't caught. I often see such spelling mistakes in the kind of publications I never used to.
ahartmetz 9y ago
The whole style feels crude and inelegant, but the content seems useful. I don't think you are going to write carelessly like the author by following his advice, so the harm is limited.

mikkqu 9y ago

I personally have found the article pretty informative as I can relate to the topic very well. Takes me enormous amount of energy to write something that's more than a few random sentences together. There is a well-known fear of public speaking and in my case it's more like a fear of public writing. Still looking for an efficient way to break thoughts down into pieces and that's one way to approach it.

gt_ 9y ago
You're not alone. Public speaking is no problem for me, as it cuts out the middle man, or, the medium. Another comment points to the typos in this article in devaluing the author, while I secretly admire him for letting them slide. My threshold for typos is small, don't get me wrong, but enough years of unfinished essays behind me and I'll seek to learn from these masters (of efficiency, if nothing else).

joewee 9y ago

I had to write a weekly technology column for a number of years. The best method I found was to prepare a outline of the content you are going to write as a series of questions. For my column I used 5 questions in a logical progression. Example question might be "Why is this technology important to small businesses?" Once I defined the questions, I wrote in sprints without correcting grammar or spelling to answer each of the questions. Sprints were a few minutes, not more than 5. When I answered all of the questions I would go back and remove the questions and edit for flow and add references and supporting facts. Last would be a grammar check, but I relied on my editor to review that given that I was often writing on deadline. I produced more than 200 articles of 800-1000 words. Week over week even when I had writers block or no desire to write at all.

raldu 9y ago
The same approach works in presentations as well. By framing your speech as a series of key questions to be answered, your presentation feels more like a real "conversation," rather than just dumping some encyclopedic information in a textbook-like order.
- joewee 9y ago
  Yes I learned the same thing in consulting, craft the narrative first.
1337biz 9y ago
I once watched an obscure online course by some Canadian lawyer with a similar method for writing books that way. Wasn't by any chance your inspiration?
- lawrencewu 9y ago
  Do you happen to know the name of the course? Very interested.
  - 1337biz 9y ago

munchbunny 9y ago

In my own experiences, the key to writing essays quickly and expertly is just writing a lot of essays and consciously trying to hone your craft. Writing is a complex skill that takes lots of time and attention in little incremental steps, and the further you go the faster/better you get. It's more than just practice though. It's also momentum. I find that the more I write, the more my brain passively seeks more material to write, and so I get faster at generating ideas and putting them on paper. This happens with programming too - the more I do, the faster I get at coming up with ideas and prototyping them. Same with sports, gaming, really everything that combines skill and creativity. I get more creative by just doing it more. Certainly there's real technique to writing quickly, but I've always found that my own biggest barrier was having something meaningful to say, and the fastest way to get into a rhythm of actually coming up with meaningful things to say was to just start putting words down in the first place. Which leads to the paradox: you become prolific by trying to be prolific.

nmyk 9y ago
Yep, as one of my fiction instructors once said: The more you do it, the more you do it.

projektir 9y ago

I enjoyed this article; it solidified some things I had a vague idea about in terms of how articles are structured.

flavio81 9y ago

How to write prolifically and expert-like? Why, by using the Postmodernism generator, of course! http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/ http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/ Hint: Hit refresh to generate a new essay.

rayalez 9y ago

Here's a common essay structure I've picked up on, from many sources(From Eliezer Yudkowsky's rationality articles to John Oliver's Last Week Tonight) 1. Introduce a problem/concept - can be a social issue, bias, or a useful cognitive tool. 2. Define/explain what it is. 3. Give several examples or studies. 4. Call to action - propose a solution, debiasing, or a practical real life application. Also add an intro that grabs attention and promises value. This seems to work well and I like it a lot, it gives me a pretty universal way to write on many subjects.

glomph 9y ago
A method I was taught at school for philosophy is very similar. DICE: Define - Introduce and explain the concept Illustrate - Give examples Contrast - Give contrasting examples or alternative points of view. Explain - Cover why the concept is interesting or significant or why we should care about it or why it is preferable to alternatives.

soyiuz 9y ago

1. Just as with code: read and write a lot. 2. Have models to emulate. 3. Learn the rules. 4. Clearly structure your sentences, paragraphs, and larger semantic units (essay, short story, etc.). 5. Edit extensively. 6. Be kind to your reader: concise and clear will always be better than wordy and vague. 7. Vary your word use, sentence length, phrase structure, and in general, rhythm. A mumbling monotone is difficult to comprehend. Read your drafts out loud just to make sure you have FLOW. 8. Don't be a pompous ass. I am very smart, is not a great way to start. Avoid being cute, pretentious, precious, ponderous, and otherwise fake. Develop your voice, which is how you sound to other people. 9. Ermm... formatting is an art of its own.

galaxyLogic 9y ago

Excellent article but I think it is missing one point, and why I think joewee in his comment is more right. Argument, Explanation, Definition, Description are not the only types of articles or essays. What's missing from the list is "Story". Story is something that is entertaining to read because it first creates some expectations, perhaps in the wrong direction on purpose like a good detective story. Then resolves the issues preferably in a non-obvious way. Therefore I believe joewee is right, it is best to structure your article based on a set of questions which should pique the interest of the reader.

Terretta 9y ago

For a self-writing timed exam essay, structure more simply: - Thing because reasons 1, 2, and 3. - Thing because Reason 1. Reason 1 elaborated. Supporting examples. - Thing because Reason 2. Reason 2 elaborated. Supporting examples. - Thing because Reason 3. Reason 3 elaborated. Supporting examples. - From reasons 1, 2, and 3, the thing. Paint by these numbers against the clock: - Divide time available by 5, e.g., 50 minute period, 5 intervals of 10 minutes. - Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em: Spend first 10 minutes thinking about the topic and write a thesis statement based on three persuasive reasons you can support with examples from what you remember about the topic. (10 mins) - Tell 'em (x3): Spend each of the next 10 minute blocks writing a paragraph connecting that part, elaborating on the reason, then providing as many supporting examples as you can fit in the ten minutes. (3 x 10 mins) - Tell 'em what you told 'em: Write a compelling conclusion based on the reasons. Spend any leftover time proof-reading. (10 mins)