5 ms·

How to Write with Style (1985)

124 points by rcoppolo 11y ago

INTPnerd 11y ago
This reminds me of many good principals of writing code.
seahorse 11y ago
The Elements of Style - W. Strunk Jr. and E.B. White http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/S...
kansface 11y ago
The Elements of Style is both dated and largely self-contradictory. Vonnegut judged his own work by slightly different metrics: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the end as possible. 6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. 7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia. 8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
- bostonpete 11y ago
  > Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. Interesting. That's why I stopped watching sons of anarchy. I realized I hated pretty much every major character. By the way, did you accidentally a word at the end of #1?
  - oh_sigh 11y ago
    Rule 9: What you don't write can be more important than what
  - kansface 11y ago
    I did - the full quote is: Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. I feel the same way about Breaking Bad and Mad Men - the last few episodes are painful.
- d23 11y ago
  > The Elements of Style is both dated and largely self-contradictory. That's a bold statement. Care to back it up?
  - jeffreyrogers 11y ago
    I don't know what the OP meant, but I remember reading it and noting that the section on not using the passive voice used the passive voice. There were probably more things like that. Unrelated, but in general I think the advice of Nassim Taleb is good: most people looking to improve their writing style are really lacking something to say.
    - mercer 11y ago
      > I don't know what the OP meant, but I remember reading it and noting that the section on not using the passive voice used the passive voice. There were probably more things like that. Are you sure that wasn't a joke? I recall that the writers often would cleverly break their 'rules' to make them examples of what to avoid.
      - jeffreyrogers 11y ago
        No, they gave examples of the active voice that were actually passive voice, just better written.
    - munchbunny 11y ago
      That's not practical advice. Especially in the workplace, you have plenty to say. It may not progress humankind, but you definitely need to say it. You may be discussing a design decision, announcing a promotion, negotiating a contract, etc. In these cases, one might get better at writing and say the same thing more effectively. This is where a person would need practical advice to improve his writing style. I've run into plenty of people in professional settings who would be more effective in their jobs if they could write better. They often don't realize it themselves until a colleague suggests revisions. I read Strunk & White at some point. It has its contradictions, sure, but much of its advice is good if you treat it as advice, and not a rulebook. For example, you might occasionally need the use the passive voice, but it's very good advice to strongly prefer the active voice and to use the passive only when you really need to. Some people really do have a problem using way too many passive verbs, but few realize it until they try writing with active verbs.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
jdeisenberg 11y ago
I remember reading this in an advert for International Paper when it first came out. It's absolutely wonderful, and one of the most readable things I've ever seen from Vonnegut.
meesterdude 11y ago
i read this and liked it, only after I scrolled up did I realize it was Kurt Vonnegut. Also, I really love this video of his, on the shape of a story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ As a side note I found the formatting, or lack of formatting, interesting. It felt very much like a document, or a piece of paper, than a web page. That surprised me.
blackhaz 11y ago
This is wonderful, thank you.
tobias2014 11y ago
I can thoroughly recommend "The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well" by Paula LaRocque (http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Writing-Ultimate-Guide/dp/0989236706 http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Writing-Ultimate-Guide/dp/098...)

124 points by rcoppolo 11y ago

This reminds me of many good principals of writing code.

The Elements of Style - W. Strunk Jr. and E.B. White http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/S...

kansface 11y ago

The Elements of Style is both dated and largely self-contradictory. Vonnegut judged his own work by slightly different metrics: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the end as possible. 6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. 7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia. 8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

bostonpete 11y ago
> Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. Interesting. That's why I stopped watching sons of anarchy. I realized I hated pretty much every major character. By the way, did you accidentally a word at the end of #1?
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  Rule 9: What you don't write can be more important than what
- kansface 11y ago
  I did - the full quote is: Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. I feel the same way about Breaking Bad and Mad Men - the last few episodes are painful.
d23 11y ago
> The Elements of Style is both dated and largely self-contradictory. That's a bold statement. Care to back it up?
- jeffreyrogers 11y ago
  I don't know what the OP meant, but I remember reading it and noting that the section on not using the passive voice used the passive voice. There were probably more things like that. Unrelated, but in general I think the advice of Nassim Taleb is good: most people looking to improve their writing style are really lacking something to say.
  - mercer 11y ago
    > I don't know what the OP meant, but I remember reading it and noting that the section on not using the passive voice used the passive voice. There were probably more things like that. Are you sure that wasn't a joke? I recall that the writers often would cleverly break their 'rules' to make them examples of what to avoid.
    - jeffreyrogers 11y ago
      No, they gave examples of the active voice that were actually passive voice, just better written.
  - munchbunny 11y ago
    That's not practical advice. Especially in the workplace, you have plenty to say. It may not progress humankind, but you definitely need to say it. You may be discussing a design decision, announcing a promotion, negotiating a contract, etc. In these cases, one might get better at writing and say the same thing more effectively. This is where a person would need practical advice to improve his writing style. I've run into plenty of people in professional settings who would be more effective in their jobs if they could write better. They often don't realize it themselves until a colleague suggests revisions. I read Strunk & White at some point. It has its contradictions, sure, but much of its advice is good if you treat it as advice, and not a rulebook. For example, you might occasionally need the use the passive voice, but it's very good advice to strongly prefer the active voice and to use the passive only when you really need to. Some people really do have a problem using way too many passive verbs, but few realize it until they try writing with active verbs.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

jdeisenberg 11y ago

I remember reading this in an advert for International Paper when it first came out. It's absolutely wonderful, and one of the most readable things I've ever seen from Vonnegut.

meesterdude 11y ago

i read this and liked it, only after I scrolled up did I realize it was Kurt Vonnegut. Also, I really love this video of his, on the shape of a story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ As a side note I found the formatting, or lack of formatting, interesting. It felt very much like a document, or a piece of paper, than a web page. That surprised me.

blackhaz 11y ago

This is wonderful, thank you.

tobias2014 11y ago

I can thoroughly recommend "The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well" by Paula LaRocque (http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Writing-Ultimate-Guide/dp/0989236706 http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Writing-Ultimate-Guide/dp/098...)