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Some of these are clear improvements - but many of them are simplifications that lose depth and nuance. The world is filled with detail, tailoring text to meet

Some of these are clear improvements - but many of them are simplifications that lose depth and nuance. The world is filled with detail, tailoring text to meet the needs of people unable to grasp that detail does not remove it - It obfuscates it. Sometimes simple and direct language is good. Sometimes it makes the entire conversation devoid of usefulness or meaning. Work to understand which context is appropriate for what you write.

bumby 5y ago
>but many of them are simplifications that lose depth and nuance. They reminded me of Hemingway's simple, declarative style. I know some people like it, but I always found it somewhat lacking for creating a sense of emotional connection to the characters.
- shagie 5y ago
  https://hemingwayapp.com https://hemingwayapp.com https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29052997 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29052997 (6 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25125302 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25125302 (248 comments)
bregma 5y ago
> Some of these are clear improvements - but many of them are simplifications that lose depth and nuance. Some of these make writing better. Many of them just leave words out and don't say as much. > The world is filled with detail, tailoring text to meet the needs of people unable to grasp that detail does not remove it - It obfuscates it. There is a lot of stuff around us. Using words meant only for people who do not like a lot of stuff does not make the stuff go away. It just hides the stuff. > Sometimes simple and direct language is good. Sometimes it makes the entire conversation devoid of usefulness or meaning. Using simple words can be good. Sometimes it is not good enough. > Work to understand which context is appropriate for what you write. Use words understood by the people you are writing for.
- horsawlarway 5y ago
  I actually love this comment, since it's a near perfect example of what I mean. Your first 3 re-writes all lose some of their meaning in the simplified form. The last one is basically fine.
JimTheMan 5y ago
A lot of these examples seemed to reduce the word count when making the sentence simpler. I would argue that you would want to increase the word count. For instance, you would swap out a word like 'superfluous' instead for 'more than was needed'. That way you could still give the full and rich meaning you intend, without just losing the harder words and the texture they provide. Example(and opening myself up to criticism): "Kyra is autistic and very deaf. She was born small and much earlier than she was supposed to. Because of this she has trouble seeing, hearing, eating and sleeping. Her hand shakes so much that she cannot use sign language to speak much at all. Her parents think she may know a couple of signs, but no more."

bumby 5y ago

>but many of them are simplifications that lose depth and nuance. They reminded me of Hemingway's simple, declarative style. I know some people like it, but I always found it somewhat lacking for creating a sense of emotional connection to the characters.

shagie 5y ago
https://hemingwayapp.com https://hemingwayapp.com https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29052997 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29052997 (6 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25125302 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25125302 (248 comments)

bregma 5y ago

> Some of these are clear improvements - but many of them are simplifications that lose depth and nuance. Some of these make writing better. Many of them just leave words out and don't say as much. > The world is filled with detail, tailoring text to meet the needs of people unable to grasp that detail does not remove it - It obfuscates it. There is a lot of stuff around us. Using words meant only for people who do not like a lot of stuff does not make the stuff go away. It just hides the stuff. > Sometimes simple and direct language is good. Sometimes it makes the entire conversation devoid of usefulness or meaning. Using simple words can be good. Sometimes it is not good enough. > Work to understand which context is appropriate for what you write. Use words understood by the people you are writing for.

horsawlarway 5y ago
I actually love this comment, since it's a near perfect example of what I mean. Your first 3 re-writes all lose some of their meaning in the simplified form. The last one is basically fine.

JimTheMan 5y ago

A lot of these examples seemed to reduce the word count when making the sentence simpler. I would argue that you would want to increase the word count. For instance, you would swap out a word like 'superfluous' instead for 'more than was needed'. That way you could still give the full and rich meaning you intend, without just losing the harder words and the texture they provide. Example(and opening myself up to criticism): "Kyra is autistic and very deaf. She was born small and much earlier than she was supposed to. Because of this she has trouble seeing, hearing, eating and sleeping. Her hand shakes so much that she cannot use sign language to speak much at all. Her parents think she may know a couple of signs, but no more."