写作的意外收获：好的写作激发思想
保罗·格雷厄姆在回复邮件时偶然写下这篇关于写作的短文，用时仅67分钟（写作23分钟，重写44分钟）。他认为写作远比大多数人意识到的重要：写作不仅传达思想，还能产生思想。如果写作能力差且不喜欢写作，就会错过写作本应激发的大部分想法。他给出了大量具体建议，包括快速写出糟糕的第一稿、反复重写、删减一切不必要的内容、使用口语化语调、培养对糟糕写作的敏感度、模仿喜欢的作者、先向别人口述再写下来、预期80%的想法在开始写作后才会出现、足够自信地删减、让朋友读稿子反馈、不要总做详细大纲、在写作前酝酿几天、随身携带笔记本、从想到的第一句话开始写、在截止日期前先说出最重要的句子、写自己感兴趣的东西、不要试图显摆、随时改变主题、使用脚注来容纳离题话、使用首语重复法连接句子、大声朗读检查、告诉读者新鲜有用的东西、使用大块时间写作、重启时先重读已写内容、结束时留个容易开始的任务、在文件底部积累主题笔记但不一定要写、为不仔细阅读的读者写作、立即修改错误、询问朋友哪句话最可能后悔、收回激烈言论、在网上发表因为观众促使你多写、打印草稿而不是只看屏幕、使用简单的日耳曼语词汇、学会区分惊喜和离题、识别结尾的迹象并抓住它。
March 2005 (In the process of answering an email, I accidentally wrote a tiny essay about writing. I usually spend weeks on an essay. This one took 67 minutes—23 of writing, and 44 of rewriting.)
2005年3月 （在回复一封邮件的过程中，我无意中写了一篇关于写作的小短文。我通常要花几周时间写一篇文章。这篇只用了67分钟——23分钟写作，44分钟重写。）
I think it's far more important to write well than most people realize. Writing doesn't just communicate ideas; it generates them. If you're bad at writing and don't like to do it, you'll miss out on most of the ideas writing would have generated.
我认为，写作的重要性远超多数人的认知。写作不仅传达思想，更能催生思想。如果你不擅长写作，或者不喜欢写作，你就会错失写作本应催生的大部分想法。
As for how to write well, here's the short version: Write a bad version 1 as fast as you can; rewrite it over and over; cut
out everything unnecessary; write in a conversational tone; develop a nose for bad writing, so you can see and fix it in yours; imitate writers you like; if you can't get started, tell someone what you plan to write about, then write down what you said; expect 80% of the ideas in an essay to happen after you start writing it, and 50% of those you start with to be wrong; be confident enough to cut; have friends you trust read your stuff and tell you which bits are confusing or drag; don't (always) make detailed outlines; mull ideas over for a few days before writing; carry a small notebook or scrap paper with you; start writing when you think of the first sentence; if a deadline forces you to start before that, just say the most important sentence first; write about stuff you like; don't try to sound impressive; don't hesitate to change the topic on the fly; use footnotes to contain digressions; use anaphora to knit sentences together; read your essays out loud to see (a) where you stumble over awkward phrases and (b) which bits are boring (the paragraphs you dread reading); try to tell the reader something new and useful; work in fairly big quanta of time; when you restart, begin by rereading what you have so far; when you finish, leave yourself something easy to start with; accumulate notes for topics you plan to cover at the bottom of the file; don't feel obliged to cover any of them; write for a reader who won't read the essay as carefully as you do, just as pop songs are designed to sound ok on crappy car radios; if you say anything mistaken, fix it immediately; ask friends which sentence you'll regret most; go back and tone down harsh remarks; publish stuff online, because an audience makes you write more, and thus generate more ideas; print out drafts instead of just looking at them on the screen; use simple, germanic words; learn to distinguish surprises from digressions; learn to recognize the approach of an ending, and when one appears, grab it.
至于如何写好文章，简短版如下： 尽快写出一个糟糕的版本1；反复重写；删除所有不必要的内容；使用对话式的语气；培养对糟糕写作的嗅觉，这样你就能发现并修正自己的问题；模仿你喜欢的作家；如果无法开始，告诉别人你打算写什么，然后记下你说的话；预期文章中80%的想法是在开始写作后产生的，而最初的想法中有50%是错误的；要有足够的自信去删减；让信得过的朋友读你的文章，并告诉你哪些部分令人困惑或拖沓；不要（总是）制定详细的提纲；在写作前将想法酝酿几天；随身携带小笔记本或便签纸；想到第一句话时就开始写作；如果截止日期迫使你提前开始，就先说出最重要的一句话；写你喜欢的东西；不要试图显得震撼；随时毫不犹豫地改变话题；用脚注来容纳离题的内容；使用顶针（anaphora）来衔接句子；大声朗读你的文章，以发现（a）哪里被别扭的短语绊住，以及（b）哪些部分无聊（你害怕读的段落）；尝试告诉读者一些新且有价值的东西；在较完整的时间段内工作；重新开始时，先重读已写的内容；结束时，给自己留下容易开始的东西；在文件底部积累计划涵盖的主题笔记；不必感到必须涵盖它们；为那些不会像你一样仔细阅读文章的读者而写，就像流行歌曲设计成在破旧汽车收音机上听起来还不错；如果你说了任何错误的话，立即修正；询问朋友你最可能后悔的句子；回去缓和尖锐的评论；将作品发布到网上，因为观众会促使你写更多，从而产生更多想法；打印草稿而不是只在屏幕上查看；使用简单的日耳曼语词汇；学会区分惊喜和离题；学会识别结尾的临近，一旦出现就抓住它。