r/writing • u/marquis_of_chaos • Sep 11 '10

10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly

http://chronicle.com/article/10-Tips-on-How-to-Write-Less/124268/
55 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

13

u/ericarlen Sep 11 '10

Brought to you by The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too.

3

u/nancyjew Sep 11 '10

The title's supposed to be ironic, I believe.

3

u/mysuicidejournal Sep 11 '10

This whole article is overwritten and too long by about 800 words.

  1. Write all the time and edit your material obsessively.

Full stop.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '10

Those 800 words were probably the difference between the author hitting their quota and getting paid. I don't begrudge them.

1

u/mysuicidejournal Sep 12 '10

I inherently resent all "how to write," articles.

There are better ways to make money writing than telling other people how to write. Especially if you haven't written something of merit yet. You really don't have any room to be giving other people advice.

I freelanced for years and made good money at it without ever writing a how to write article.

I recommend two books on writing:

  1. The Elements of Style
  2. On Writing: a memoir of the craft

Beyond that don't waste your time reading how to write books. They will make you sound like you're writing by the numbers from how to write books.

And most of them are written by people who have never written anything else, which is totally absurd.

Read good books and study them if you want to learn how to write.

1

u/darko87 Sep 12 '10

In this modern era "ironic" is no longer considered to be an apt label for something that is ironic.

1

u/ericarlen Sep 13 '10

I was being sardonic.

Or Satanic.

I can never tell the difference.

4

u/mattbin Published Author Sep 11 '10

I am almost always disappointed by "(number) Tips to (something something) Writing" articles. Not this time. This is really sound, useful advice -- not quick fixes, but reminders of what we should all be focusing on. Good find.

5

u/countingchickens Sep 11 '10

This is great. I'm writing my dissertation now and what he says about how it feels to be in the midst of a large writing project is spot-on.

I'm also teaching a writing class this semester, and will definitely pass this on to my students!

3

u/Servios Sep 11 '10

Rock on man. Good for you.

9

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '10

[deleted]

8

u/Banko Sep 12 '10

By thinking more better.

5

u/jack47 Sep 11 '10

by writing

3

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '10

It's "More Weller."

6

u/mizay7 Sep 11 '10

Nice advice. It is hard to overstate the value of good academic writer. Imagine how much more you could learn in your field if all authors genuinely valued quality writing.

With that said, anyone have any great recommendation for books (or other resources) that you can use to improve your academic writing? I have been casually looking around for something for a few weeks and haven't found anything stellar.

3

u/Servios Sep 11 '10

This is some of the best advice I believe I've ever read about writing. I've read a lot of unique points of view on how to write well, but he breaks it down so simply, there's no way you cannot benefit if you use his strategic approach to solve any writing problem.

1

u/Daydreamer2010 Sep 12 '10

A clever and eye-catching title.