I wish I had read this article BEFORE I started blogging. Oh well, we'll try to do better in the future. Actually, I might do most of these already, most of the time. I have to work more on #6, sometimes guilty of hitting the "Publish" key either prematurely or before I have done a spelling / grammar check. #2 is a good one as well, because, of course, it always makes sense to me. Only problem is Mrs. TheSlav is like a good cop, never around when you need her.
Hopefully the next 2,000 or so posts are better than the first 2,0000. They almost have to be, right?
How To Be A Better Writer: 6 Tips From Harvard's Steven Pinker
Here are six of Steven's tips for good writing:
- Be visual and conversational. Be concrete, make your reader see and stop trying to impress.
- Beware "the curse of knowledge." Have someone read your work and tell you if it makes sense. Your own brain cannot be trusted.
- Don't bury the lead. Clarity beats suspense. If they don't know what it's about they can't follow along.
- You don't have to play by the rules, but try. If you play it straight 99% of the time, that 1% will really shine.
- Read Read Read. The English language is too complex to learn from one book. Never stop learning.
- Good writing means revising. Never hit "send" or "print" without reviewing your work — preferably multiple times.
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