Writing, Briefly
Paul Graham accidentally wrote this short essay on writing while answering an email, taking only 67 minutes (23 writing, 44 rewriting). He argues writing is far more important than most realize: it doesn't just communicate ideas, it generates them. If you're bad at writing and dislike it, you'll miss out on most ideas writing would have generated. He offers a dense list of practical advice: write a bad version fast, rewrite repeatedly, cut everything unnecessary, use conversational tone, develop a nose for bad writing, imitate writers you like, talk through your plan first, expect 80% of ideas to emerge after starting, be confident to cut, have trusted friends read drafts, avoid detailed outlines, mull ideas for days, carry a notebook, start with the first sentence that comes, if on deadline say the most important sentence first, write about what you like, don't try to sound impressive, change topics freely, use footnotes for digressions, use anaphora, read aloud to find awkward phrases and boring parts, tell the reader something new and useful, work in large blocks of time, when restarting reread what you've written, leave yourself an easy starting point, accumulate notes at the bottom but don't feel obliged to cover them, write for a less careful reader, fix mistakes immediately, ask friends which sentence you'll regret, tone down harsh remarks, publish online to have an audience that pushes you to write more, print drafts, use simple Germanic words, learn to distinguish surprises from digressions, and recognize the approach of an ending and grab it.
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。