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> My brain just freezes out whenever I try to write "complicated" sentences which I find extremely irritating. Don't do this. Follow "The Economist Style Guide
by tzmudzin 8y ago
> My brain just freezes out whenever I try to write "complicated" sentences which I find extremely irritating.
Don't do this. Follow "The Economist Style Guide" instead:
"Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought.
So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible."
- shaki-dora 8y agoI like the version of a former judge on Germany’s Supreme Court: “Think like a philosopher, write like a peasant”.
- senderista 8y agoIf only German philosophers had taken that advice.
- tvanantwerp 8y agoA guest lecturer from Germany comes to a university classroom and begins giving his speech in German. After five minutes, a bored student gets up to leave. "No, wait!" interjects the German lecturer. "I've almost gotten to the verb!"
- gk1 8y agoIn tsarist Russia, authors were paid by the page, which is why Dostoevsky's stories are so verbose and indirect. I don't know what's Nietzsche's excuse.
- shaki-dora 8y agoOr German peasants!
- criddell 8y agoThere are some writers that seem to produce work that is just incompatible with my brain. A recent example for me is Sam Harris' book Waking Up. It feels like somebody could take that book, remove some ornamentation, and state the ideas more plainly. It isn't a difficult text, but I find myself having to reread pages to clear the fog more than I normally do.
- zabana 8y agoThis is very good advice. I think my problem is I try to sound more "intelligent" and well-spoken. Maybe that's because English isn't my first language. In any case, the most annoying thing for me is to not be able to tap into my inner thesaurus. When I read other people's articles, comments and book I often find myself thinking "why did I not use that turn of phrase in my previous blog post".
- tzmudzin 8y agoI can sympathize with you, as I shared the same woes. Don't torture yourself though. Quite often the ornamental form simply hides the lack of intellectual depth in the content. Free yourself from such thoughts and the rest will follow. I really recommend "The Economist Style Guide". Please read through it, then read again to see how it was applied to itself (!). Then write a short passage, and revise it to adhere to the recommendations -- don't be surprised if this will need several passes though! You will be surprised how much this can improve your writing, but also structure your own thoughts.
- mediocrejoker 8y agoTrying to sound intelligent can actually have the opposite effect. I like the quote "If you can't explain something simply then you don't understand it well enough." As for picking up idioms, I think it's something that happens gradually as you are exposed to more writing by native speakers.
- henrik_w 8y agoVery good advice, I'll save that quote.
- pcmaffey 8y agoAlso, if you’re struggling with how to phrase something, try omitting it instead.
- wenc 8y agoI think there's a difference between lean prose and choppy prose. [1] Lean prose (Hemingway) is elegant simplicity. Choppy prose (most amateur writers) is tiring and jarring. Despite their seemingly shared characteristic of simplicity, it takes a lot of practice to achieve the former. [1] https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/common-writing-mistakes-choppy-prose/ https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/common-writing-m...