5 ms·
I learned to improve my writing quite a bit by using outlines that let me shift through levels of abstraction at will. I write long e-mails and blog posts using
by SatvikBeri 14y ago
I learned to improve my writing quite a bit by using outlines that let me shift through levels of abstraction at will. I write long e-mails and blog posts using mind-mapping software. Being able to re-order my paragraphs & sentences, include or change examples, and step up and down different levels of detail has made it much easier for me to communicate the points I want to make. I've found that this helps even when I'm writing short e-mails or HN comments.
Admittedly my writing doesn't sound pretty. I'm okay with this. My e-mail chains end up much shorter than any other programmer/analyst I know and result in significantly fewer misunderstandings. That's what I call success.
- danielmiller 14y agoWhat mind-mapping software do you use? A quick Google search reveals quite a few apps. I had never heard of this "genre" until now!
- CeiII 14y agoMindNode (http://mindnode.com/ http://mindnode.com/) is not bad for Mac. I've also found FreeMind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) pretty good in the past.
- ktizo 14y agoI love freemind, mostly for how quick it is to use from just the keyboard, and also for the the platform independence which makes it very easy to use it collaboratively.
- SatvikBeri 14y agoI used to use bubbl.us because it has nice keyboard shortcuts. Now I use www.checkvist.com because you can create stuff in a list format, which is easier to paste into documents and share with others.