How to write 如何写作

Purpose of writing 写作目的

The purpose of writing is to change how the writer and reader think. For now, I'll focus on the reader. For writing to achieve this purpose, someone has to read it. Which begs the question, why would someone read something I wrote? The answer, because they think it's valuable. So what makes a piece of writing valuable? That is a poor question. A better one is, what makes a piece of writing valuable to someone? The value is not what's in the author's head or the words on the page. It's what those words do inside the reader's head. This means the value of a piece of writing is subjective. What I write is only valuable to a specific group of people. So who are those people?
写作的目的是改变作者和读者的思维方式。 目前，我将专注于读者。为了实现这个目的，必须有人阅读它。这就引出了一个问题，为什么有人会阅读我写的东西？ 答案是，因为他们认为它有价值。那么，是什么让一篇文章有价值呢？这是一个糟糕的问题。更好的问题是，是什么让一篇文章对某个人有价值？ 价值不在于作者的头脑中或页面上的文字，而在于这些文字在读者头脑中所产生的效果。这意味着一篇文章的价值是主观的。我写的东西只对特定的一群人有价值。那么，那些人是谁呢？

My target audience. And, as the saying goes, know your audience. A group of strangers whom I know what they like. What they dislike. What they want. What they need. How they think. How to reach them. The more I think about this, the more impossible it sounds. There is only one person I truley know that intimately. Me. I am my target audience. I write about what interests me in a way I find interesting. More of a diary than a broadcast to strangers. This is authentic writing.
我的目标受众。正如俗话所说，了解你的受众。 一群陌生人，我知道他们喜欢什么。他们不喜欢什么。他们想要什么。他们需要什么。他们怎么想。如何接触他们。越想越觉得这听起来越不可能。只有一个人我真的如此了解。就是我自己。我就是我的目标受众。 我以我感兴趣的方式写我感兴趣的内容。更像是一本日记，而不是对陌生人的广播。这是真正的写作。

“What the world craves is Authenticity”
“世界渴望的是真实性”

Over time, people like me will become my audience. Because they like what I like. I won't waste time guessing what content they might be interested in. Or lose motivation writing about things I don't care about because it might please others. I know my audience because they are like me.
随着时间的推移，像我这样的人将成为我的观众。因为他们喜欢我喜欢的东西。我不会浪费时间去猜测他们可能感兴趣的内容。也不会因为可能取悦他人而失去写作我不关心的事情的动力。我了解我的观众，因为他们和我一样。

“I just write what I want. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself. I never in my wildest dreams expected this popularity.”
“我只是写我想写的东西。我写让我开心的东西。这完全是为了我自己。我从未想过会有这样的受欢迎程度。”

Signal vs. noise 信号与噪声

Every piece of communication is a mix of signal and noise. Signal is the information the author intends to communicate. Noise is everything else. The more the intended information connects with the viewer, the stronger the signal. The more needless details or hard to understand word choices, the more noise. Great writing has a strong signal and minimal noise.
每一条沟通都是信号和噪声的混合。 信号是作者意图传达的信息。噪声是其他一切。意图传达的信息与观众的连接越强，信号就越强。无关的细节或难以理解的词汇选择越多，噪声就越多。优秀的写作具有强烈的信号和最小的噪声。

What to say 说什么

New or existing idea 新想法或现有想法

A post can communicate a new idea, or an existing idea in a new way. Surprisingly, a fresh take on an existing idea can be just as valuable as a new one.
一篇帖子可以传达一个新想法，或者以新的方式表达一个现有的想法。令人惊讶的是，对现有想法的新颖看法可能和新想法一样有价值。

“Ken Burns, one of the most famous documentary film makers of all time. Most of what is in his documentaries is information people already know. You not learning something new. But he is massively successful. Massively popular because he is probably the greatest story teller of our time. So even when you're taking information that they already know, if you could spin a good story about it, you get people lining up and they will knock your door down to listen to you.”
肯·伯恩斯是有史以来最著名的纪录片制作人之一。他的纪录片中大部分信息是人们已经知道的。你并没有学到新的东西。但他非常成功，极受欢迎，因为他可能是我们这个时代最伟大的讲故事者。因此，即使你在讲述他们已经知道的信息，如果你能把它编织成一个好的故事，人们就会排队等着，甚至会砸门进来听你讲。

“When creating art, books, stories—anything—don't let the pursuit of originality freeze you. There's something much more important than originality anyway: resonance. And resonance is something you can repeatedly accomplish. Resonance is expressing an idea so truthfully using today's sensibilities that you fixate people on it and make it feel worth remembering. Resonance is relatable storytelling that reveals an uncolored truth about life, and for a brief moment it takes over the reader's mind. Retelling an age-old story with more truth and better narrative is more powerful than originality: after all, you'll rarely change someone's life by telling them something new, but you can reliably affect them by saying something so well that it compels them to lean in. Consider how films like Gladiator and The Shawshank Redemption tell clichéd stories as old as time. But they've resonated above most other films for decades. Why? Great storytelling takes precedence over originality.”
在创作艺术、书籍、故事——任何东西时，不要让对原创性的追求让你停滞不前。无论如何，有比原创性更重要的东西：共鸣。而共鸣是你可以反复实现的。共鸣是用当今的感性真实地表达一个想法，以至于让人们专注于它，并使其值得铭记。共鸣是能够引起共鸣的叙事，揭示生活中未被修饰的真相，短暂地占据读者的思维。用更多的真相和更好的叙事重新讲述一个古老的故事，比原创性更有力量：毕竟，你很少通过告诉别人一些新东西来改变他们的生活，但你可以通过如此出色的表达来可靠地影响他们，使他们愿意倾听。想想像《角斗士》和《肖申克的救赎》这样的电影，它们讲述的是古老的陈词滥调的故事。但几十年来，它们的共鸣超越了大多数其他电影。为什么？伟大的叙事优先于原创性。

People prefer to consume information filtered through someone's voice. Scott Galaway highlights that most news providers source their content from the same places. They're all saying the same thing. The reason someone chooses one provider over another comes down to how that information is communicated. Their perspective. Their voice.
人们更喜欢通过某人的声音过滤的信息。斯科特·盖洛威强调，大多数新闻提供者的内容来源于相同的地方。他们都在说同样的话。选择一个提供者而不是另一个的原因在于信息的传达方式。他们的视角。他们的声音。

Raw material 原材料

Writing begins before I know what I'm writing about. The internet is an ocean of information and I explore it by following my curiosity. Trawling news websites like Hacker News, falling down YouTube rabbit holes and boldly going beyond the first page of Google search results. Go deep enough and you find treasure like The Bizarre World of Fake Video Games. I collect snippets, videos, images, quotes, statistics, thoughts, … Each tagged and added to my library. Conversations are also good source. Running ideas past people offers different perspectives and can make for interesting conversation. Over time, I build a wealth of information on topics I'm interested in. Raw material ready to be crafted into a signal.
写作在我知道自己在写什么之前就开始了。互联网是一个信息的海洋，我通过追随好奇心来探索它。浏览新闻网站，如Hacker News，踏入 YouTube 的兔子洞，大胆地超越谷歌搜索结果的第一页。深入下去，你会发现像虚假电子游戏的奇异世界这样的珍宝。我收集片段、视频、图像、引用、统计数据、想法…… 每一个都被标记并添加到我的图书馆中。谈话也是一个很好的来源。与人分享想法可以提供不同的视角，并使谈话变得有趣。随着时间的推移，我在自己感兴趣的话题上积累了丰富的信息。原材料准备好被制成信号。

The more time spent exploring, the better. It's hard to make something if you don't start with all the ingredients. Some authors spend 80% of the time gathering and thinking while the remaining 20% is actual writing.
探索的时间越多，越好。如果你没有所有的材料，就很难创造出什么。一些作者花 80%的时间收集和思考，而剩下的 20%才是真正的写作。

“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”
“如果我有一个小时来解决一个问题，我会花 55 分钟思考这个问题，花 5 分钟思考解决方案。”

I don't just collect material on what to say, but also on how to say it. If I come across a post that has an effective writing technique, I'll collect it to use as future reference. If a whole post is effective, I'll reverse-engineer it to figure out why.
我不仅收集关于说什么的材料，还收集关于如何说的材料。如果我遇到一篇具有有效写作技巧的帖子，我会收集它以备将来参考。如果整篇帖子有效，我会进行逆向工程，弄清楚原因。

“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
“好的艺术家模仿，伟大的艺术家窃取。”

Creativity faucet 创意水龙头

Before committing to writing about something, I run my ideas through a creativity faucet. Just like turning on a dirty tap, the first flow of water is murky. But if you let it run long enough, the water clears and flows clean. The mind is like the tap. When you first start thinking about ideas, the initial ones may be bad. But if you keep going, eventually, the good ideas come.
在决定写某件事之前，我会将我的想法通过一个创造力水龙头。就像打开一个脏水龙头，最初流出的水是浑浊的。但如果你让它流动足够长的时间，水就会变清，流出干净的水。大脑就像水龙头。当你第一次开始思考想法时，最初的想法可能很糟糕。但如果你继续努力，最终，好的想法就会出现。

Who is saying it 谁在说这句话

Just as important as what is being said is who is saying it. You're more likely to trust medical advice from a doctor than from an accountant because the doctor is recognized as an expert in the subject. Similarly, a post is considered more valuable when written by someone who has authority in that area.
与所说内容同样重要的是说话的人。你更可能信任医生的医疗建议，而不是会计师的，因为医生被认为是该领域的专家。同样，当一篇文章由在该领域具有权威的人撰写时，它被认为更有价值。

To be seen as an authority, you need to consistently create content on that area. But which area do you pick? Allows follow genuine interest instead of what's hot right now. Over time a pattern will emerge. Writing about things just because it's trending, without passion for the subject, will show in the writing.
要被视为权威，您需要在该领域持续创作内容。但您选择哪个领域呢？允许追随真正的兴趣，而不是现在的热门话题。随着时间的推移，模式将会显现。仅仅因为某事正在流行而写作，而对该主题没有热情，这将在写作中显露出来。

“Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.”
“找到一个你关心的主题，并且在内心深处觉得其他人也应该关心的主题。正是这种真诚的关心，而不是你与语言的游戏，将成为你风格中最引人注目和诱人的元素。”

Outline 大纲

When I have enough raw material and a vague idea of what I want to write about, I create an outline—a blueprint of the post.. I start by grouping the raw material based on the ideas they support. The post will revolve around one big idea, broken down into sub-ideas, and sometimes sub-sub-ideas. Each group makes a section. Ideas the headings. All organized in a logical sequence.
当我有足够的原材料和一个模糊的写作主题时，我会创建一个大纲——文章的蓝图。我首先根据支持的想法对原材料进行分组。文章将围绕一个大想法展开，分解为子想法，有时还有子子想法。每个组构成一个部分。想法是标题。所有内容都以逻辑顺序组织。

For the author, headings provide direction and guardrails for the paragraphs that follow. Helping to keep the content on-topic. Splitting the writing into sections also makes the writing process less intimidating, allowing you to concentrate on one section at a time. Plus I also don't need to write from top to bottom. I can choose whatever section I'm motivated to write about on any given day.
对于作者，标题为后面的段落提供了方向和框架。帮助保持内容的主题性。将写作分成几个部分也使写作过程不那么令人生畏，让你可以一次专注于一个部分。此外，我也不需要从头到尾写。我可以选择在任何一天我有动力写的部分。

For the reader, sections show structure. Without them, the post would be an overwhelming wall of text. A part of writing is evoking emotions in the reader and starting with dread probably isn't one of them. Structure, on the other hand, gives a sense of calm.
给读者，章节展示了结构。没有它们，文章将是一堵令人窒息的文字墙。写作的一部分是唤起读者的情感，而以恐惧开始可能不是其中之一。另一方面，结构则带来了一种平静的感觉。

Sections help reduce the amount of context the reader needs to hold in their mind. Each section should be self-contained, making it understandable without relying on what came before or after.
部分有助于减少读者需要记住的上下文量。每个部分都应该是自足的，使其在不依赖于前后内容的情况下也能被理解。

A section should corner off context. Making it understandable without the need to read the section before or after it. When a reader enters a new section, they can let go of the previous context. The less they need to retain, the less mental energy required to decode the page, the less noise.
一个部分应该将上下文隔离开来。使其在不需要阅读前后部分的情况下也能理解。当读者进入一个新部分时，他们可以放下之前的上下文。他们需要保留的信息越少，解码页面所需的心理能量就越少，干扰也就越少。

Sections improve skim-ability. A post is is only valuable to the target audience. The first thing a reader does is skim the post to see if they are the audience and whether to read or not. Sections, with some other things, make this step fast and easy.
段落提高了可浏览性。帖子对目标受众只有价值。读者首先会浏览帖子，以判断自己是否属于目标受众，以及是否值得阅读。段落和其他一些元素使这个步骤变得快速而简单。

• ▪ Title: tells the reader what they will get from reading this post.
  标题: 告诉读者阅读此帖子将获得什么。
• ▪ Intended audience: a broad description of the audience.
  目标受众: 对受众的广泛描述。
• ▪ Table of contents: some readers may only be interested in one section of the post. A table of contents allows them to access it ASAP.
  目录：一些读者可能只对文章的某一部分感兴趣。目录使他们能够尽快访问该部分。
• ▪ The hook: a brief of what the reader is in store for.
  钩子：读者将要了解的简要内容。
• ▪ Highlighted key points: the most valuable pieces of the post. Styled to standout and make easier to see while skimming.
  重点突出：帖子中最有价值的部分。经过样式处理，以便在浏览时更容易看到。

The easier to skim, the better you manage the reader's expectations. This matters because people don't get upset by what they receive; they get upset when it doesn't match their expectations. If I buy a $1 sandwich and it's bad, I won't be upset—I got what I paid for. But, if I buy a $20 sandwich and it's bad, I'll be angry because I expected something better. Good skim-ability means if they choose to read, they know you're taking them where they want to go and will be satisfied at the end.
越容易浏览，读者的期望管理得就越好。这很重要，因为 人们对他们收到的东西不会感到不满；他们会在收到的东西与他们的期望不符时感到不满。 如果我买了一个 1 美元的三明治，结果不好，我不会感到不满——我得到了我所支付的东西。但是，如果我买了一个 20 美元的三明治，结果不好，我会生气，因为我期待更好的东西。良好的可浏览性意味着如果他们选择阅读，他们知道你正在带他们去他们想去的地方，并且最终会感到满意。

First draft 初稿

The purpose of a first draft is to create something. Every draft after that refines it. I review the outline to load context into my brain, then start writing. Fast. The first draft is a speedrun. The goal is to move everything from my head to the page. I use the creativity faucet again, writing down every idea I have in order to flush out the bad and get to the good. I don't care about quality. I write long, rambling sentences that barely make sense, filled with spelling and grammar errors, tangents, and repetition. If I can't think of how to end one, I just write #ADD SOMETHING HERE# and move on.
初稿的目的是创造一些东西。之后的每一稿都在精炼它。我回顾大纲，以便将上下文加载到我的脑海中，然后开始快速写作。初稿是一个快速的过程。目标是将我脑海中的一切转移到纸上。我再次使用创造力水龙头，写下我所有的想法，以便冲刷掉坏的，找到好的。我不在乎质量。我写长篇大论的句子，几乎没有意义，充满拼写和语法错误、离题和重复。如果我想不出如何结束一个句子，我就写#在这里添加内容#，然后继续。

This is where I generate ideas and why I only need a vague idea of what I'm writing about for the outline. Because writing is thinking. More on this later.
这是我产生想法的地方，这也是我只需要对我写的内容有一个模糊的概念来制定大纲的原因。因为写作就是思考。稍后会详细讨论这个。

I write as if I'm journaling. This helps me write exactly what I think, without altering it to fit the expectations of an imaginary audience of strangers. By the end I have a signal. It may be weak and full of noise, but it's there.
我写作就像在写日记。这帮助我准确地表达我的想法，而不必为了迎合想象中陌生观众的期望而改变它。到最后，我得到了一个信号。它可能微弱且充满噪音，但它确实存在。

How to say it 怎么说

Great writing is understandable and connects with the reader. There is no one-size-fits-all for how best to communicate. It depends on what is being said and to who.
伟大的写作是易于理解的，并且与读者产生联系。没有 一种适合所有人的 交流方式。它取决于所说的内容和对象。

“The human mind and absorb and process an incredible amount of information if it comes in the right format. The right interface.”
“人类的思维能够吸收和处理大量信息，只要信息以正确的格式呈现。正确的界面。”

Understandable 可理解的

A valuable idea loses its value if it can't be communicated in a way people understand. Below are two explanations of the same mathematical rule—how to add fractions with the same denominator—one before mathematical notation existed and one after:
一个有价值的想法如果无法以人们理解的方式传达，就会失去其价值。 以下是对同一数学规则的两种解释——如何加同分母的分数——一种是在数学符号出现之前，另一种是在之后：

I don't understand the explanation on the left. The idea is valuable but, because it's communicated in a way I don't understand, it becomes worthless. The explanation of the right I understand and therefore the idea retains its value.
我不理解左边的解释。这个想法很有价值，但因为它以我不理解的方式传达，所以变得毫无价值。右边的解释我理解，因此这个想法保持了它的价值。

Simplify 简化

“The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.”
“优秀写作的秘诀在于将每个句子剥离到最简洁的组成部分。”

Simplifying writing removes noise. It helps gets the content into the reader's head as frictionless as possible.
简化写作消除噪音。它有助于让内容尽可能顺利地进入读者的脑海。

One sentence per line. Displaying each sentence on its own line makes simplifying easier. This is not how it will look when published, only when revising. It:
每行一句话。将每个句子单独显示在一行上使简化更容易。这不是发布时的样子，仅在修订时如此。它：

• ▪ helps you judge each sentence on its own, rather than being hidden within a paragraph,
  帮助你独立判断每个句子，而不是隐藏在段落中
• ▪ makes it easier to rearrange sentences. Make the first sentence punch and the last linger and
  使重新排列句子变得更容易。让第一句话有力，最后一句则留给人深思。
• ▪ makes it easy to see sentence length.
  使得查看句子长度变得简单。

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals-sounds that say listen to this, it is important. So write with a combination of short, meium and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the ear. Don't just write words. Write music.”
这句话有五个词。这里还有五个词。五个词的句子很好。但是几个在一起就变得单调。听听发生了什么。写作变得无聊。它的声音单调。就像一张卡住的唱片。耳朵需要一些变化。现在听。我改变句子的长度，创造音乐。音乐。写作在歌唱。它有愉悦的节奏，轻快的旋律，和谐。我使用短句。我也使用中等长度的句子。有时，当我确信读者已经休息好时，我会用一条相当长的句子来吸引他，这条句子充满了能量，随着渐强的冲击，鼓声的滚动，镲声的撞击——这些声音在说，听这个，它很重要。所以用短句、中等句和长句的组合来写作。创造一个悦耳的声音。不要只是写字。写音乐。

Purpose. For every statement, question what the purpose and effect it will have on the reader. Remove sentences irrelevant to the paragraph's purpose. Remove paragraphs irrelevant to their section's purpose. Remove sections irrelevant to the post's purpose.
目的。 对于每个陈述，质疑它对读者的目的和影响。删除与段落目的无关的句子。删除与其部分目的无关的段落。删除与帖子目的无关的部分。

Simple language. Say what you mean. Use the most effective words that get straight to the point. Don't be tricky or eloquent. Replace complex words with simple ones so even a six-year-old could understand. This prompts you to find a way of explaining complexity in it's simpliest terms. Minimizing assumed knowledge. Reducing noise. Even William Shakespeare, a master of language, used simplicity in his most profound sentence with six simple words. "To be or not to be?"
简单的语言。 说出你的意思。使用最有效的词语，直截了当。不要花哨或雄辩。用简单的词替换复杂的词，以便即使是六岁的小孩也能理解。这促使你找到以最简单的术语解释复杂性的方法。最小化假设知识。减少噪音。即使是语言大师威廉·莎士比亚，在他最深刻的句子中也使用了简单性，仅用六个简单的词。"生存还是毁灭？"

Reduce word count. The more words you can remove without weakening the signal, the better. Aim to be direct and concise. Avoid needless detail by asking yourself, to fulfil a paragraph's purpose, does a thing need to be described in detail or just mentioned? Avoid repetition. Each sentence should illuminate the subject in a new and useful way. If it doesn't, it is noise and should be removed. Each word takes effort to read. Each word comes at a cost.
减少字数。 你能去掉的词越多而不削弱信号，就越好。目标是直接和简洁。通过问自己，为了实现段落的目的，某件事是否需要详细描述，还是只需提及，来避免不必要的细节。避免重复。每个句子都应该以新的和有用的方式阐明主题。如果没有，那就是噪音，应该被去掉。每个词都需要努力去阅读。每个词都有其成本。

Also remove defensive words. In conversation, phrases like "I think" can soften a statement and welcome others who disagree to speak up. For example, "I think the problem is ..." Don't do this in writing. You could argue omitting it means you're claiming what you write is fact rather than opinion. Most writing is opinion. It's better to assume the reader understands this rather than adding noise.
还要去掉防御性用语。在对话中，像"我认为"这样的短语可以缓和陈述，并欢迎不同意见的人发言。例如，"我认为问题是 ..." 在书面表达中不要这样做。你可以认为省略它意味着你所写的内容是事实而非观点。大多数写作都是观点。假设读者理解这一点比增加噪音要好。

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”
“所有才能中最宝贵的是在一个词足够时绝不使用两个词。”

Use other mediums. The goal of writing is to change how the reader thinks, but this doesn't have to be done with words alone. A picture is worth a thousand words and sometimes an image, video, sound, or widget can convey an idea more effectively than text. A web page has multimedia capabilities. Use them.
使用其他媒介。 写作的目标是改变读者的思维方式，但这并不一定要仅用文字来实现。一幅图胜千言，有时图像、视频、声音或小部件可以比文字更有效地传达一个想法。网页具有多媒体功能。利用它们。

Examples 示例

When explaining a complex idea, consider using examples. They make abstract concepts more relatable by grounding them in familiar contexts. Increase their effectiveness by using real-world situations. Providing both good and bad examples helps readers spot patterns, effectively showing rather than telling, and reducing the chance of misinterpretation. Since examples can be drawn from almost anything, they also offer an opportunity for subtle humor.
在解释复杂的想法时，可以考虑使用例子。它们通过将抽象概念与熟悉的背景结合，使其更易于理解。通过使用现实世界的情况来提高它们的有效性。提供好的和坏的例子有助于读者识别模式，有效地展示而不是单纯叙述，并减少误解的可能性。由于例子几乎可以从任何事物中提取，它们也提供了微妙幽默的机会。

Counterarguments 反驳论点

Everything has pros and cons. Acknowledging and addressing counterarguments shows you've done your homework. It demonstrates that you've considered different perspectives and potential repercussions, yet still believe your idea is the strongest. This adds credibility and weight to your position.
一切事物都有利弊。承认并解决反对意见表明你已经做了功课。这表明你考虑了不同的观点和潜在的后果，但仍然相信你的想法是最强的。这为你的立场增加了可信度和分量。

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: This section is a work in progress.
建设中： 本节正在进行中。
Add: analogy, metaphor, quote.
添加：类比，隐喻，引用。

Connect 连接

Writing needs to be understandable, but being understandable alone isn't enough—it must also be memorable to change the reader's thinking. Writing that evokes emotions connects with the reader on a deeper level. Consider a scene from How I Met Your Mother presented in two ways: both identical, but the second version includes somber music and grayscale colors. These reinforce the scene's message by evoking nostalgia, making it more memorable.
写作需要易于理解，但仅仅易于理解是不够的——它还必须令人难忘，以改变读者的思维。唤起情感的写作与读者在更深层次上建立联系。考虑一下《老爸老妈的浪漫史》中的一个场景，以两种方式呈现：两者相同，但第二个版本包含忧伤的音乐和灰度色彩。这些通过唤起怀旧感来强化场景的信息，使其更加令人难忘。

Story is another way to connect at a deeper level. Simon Sinek believes nobody wants to be explained to. But people will listen and remember stories.
故事是以更深层次连接的另一种方式。西蒙·西涅克认为 没有人想被解释。但人们会倾听并记住故事。

They help people understand what you're trying to say. The explanation, facts and figures can come afterwards. People are interested in things that make them feel something. A story that triggers an emotion gets people emotionally invested. Use a story that's personal. That lets people relate their experiences, their lives to what I'm saying. Then it's no longer about me, my facts and my point of view. It's about us, our shared journey and our collective experience.
他们帮助人们理解你想表达的意思。解释、事实和数据可以稍后再说。人们对能让他们感受到某种情感的事物感兴趣。 一个能引发情感的故事会让人们情感投入。使用一个个人的故事。这让人们能够将他们的经历、他们的生活与我所说的联系起来。然后，这不再是关于我、我的事实和我的观点。这是关于我们、我们共同的旅程和我们的集体经验。

Style 风格

Michelangelo didn't try to paint like Michelangelo—he simply aimed to paint well. His style emerged naturally from that goal. Don't chase a specific writing style. Follow what you believe is good and over time, your authentic style will reveal itself. It is how you speak—your tone, humor, quirks, and perspective. The closer your writing aligns with how you naturally talk, the more authentic and relatable it becomes.
米开朗基罗并没有试图像米开朗基罗那样画画——他只是旨在画得好。他的风格自然地从这个目标中产生。 不要追求特定的写作风格。遵循你认为好的东西，随着时间的推移，你的真实风格将会显现出来。这就是你的表达方式——你的语气、幽默、怪癖和视角。你的写作越接近你自然说话的方式，它就变得越真实和易于共鸣。

The more you grow your style, the more unique your voice, the more you escape competition. There is no competition for your personal voice. If Joe Rogan's podcast disappeared tomorrow, no one could replace him because only Joe Rogan has Joe Rogan's voice.
你越是发展自己的风格，你的声音就越独特，你就越能逃避竞争。对于你的个人声音来说，没有竞争。如果乔·罗根的播客明天消失了，没有人能取代他，因为只有乔·罗根拥有乔·罗根的声音。

“Don't try to be original, just try to be good.”
“不要试图追求原创，只要努力做到优秀。”

On a weboage, style extends beyond the content to how it's presented. Make your space on the internet uniquely yours—a reflection of your personality. One of a kind. Craftsmanship shows through small details, signaling time and care have gone into creatingthis. That this is something of value.
在网页上，风格不仅仅体现在内容上，还体现在呈现方式上。让你的互联网空间独一无二，反映你的个性。独一无二。工艺通过细小的细节展现出来，表明在创造这个作品时投入了时间和精力。这是有价值的东西。

Revise, revise, revise, ...
修订，修订，修订，...

The purpose of revising is to close the gap between what you intend and what is actually happening in the reader's head.
修订的目的是缩小你所想要表达的内容与读者脑中实际发生的内容之间的差距。

Not a straight line. the process of writing is not a straight line. Revision is continually jumping backwards and forwards. Like any creative process, you have more understanding of what you are making near the end compared to the beginning. This removes hesitation to put pen to paper. Nothing is locked-in, everything is a draft that can be revised later. Aim for growth, not perfection. No sentence has to be the best, it just has to be better than before. If the page is blank, anything is better than nothing.
不是一条直线。写作的过程不是一条直线。修订是不断地前后跳跃。像任何创造性过程一样，接近结束时你对自己所创作的东西的理解要比开始时更深。 这消除了将笔放在纸上的犹豫。没有什么是锁定的，一切都是可以稍后修订的草稿。追求成长，而不是完美。没有句子必须是最好的，它只需要比之前更好。如果页面是空白的，任何东西都比没有好。

Peak-end rule. People judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak (its most intense point) and at the end. Spend twice as much time revising these parts.
峰值-结束规则。 人们在很大程度上根据他们在经历的高峰（最强烈的时刻）和结束时的感受来判断一次经历。花两倍的时间来修订这些部分。

Grammar and spelling. Ignore until the final drafts. Fixing an earlier is be a waste of time because sentences are in a constant state of change. A downside is ignore grammar and spelling mistakes for so long that it's hard to see them by the final drafts. Some ways to overcome this:
语法和拼写。 忽略直到最终草稿。修正早期的错误是浪费时间，因为句子处于不断变化的状态。一个缺点是忽略语法和拼写错误太久，以至于在最终草稿中很难看到它们。一些克服这个问题的方法：

• ▪ read the post out loud
  大声朗读帖子
• ▪ Hemingway Editor 海明威编辑器
• ▪ Grammarly Grammarly: 格拉默利

My feedback. Before getting feedback from others, get it from yourself. Step away from your work to get fresh eyes. Stephen King leaves his drafts alone for six weeks to defamiliarize himself. You want others' feedback to focus on what you missed, not what you could have caught on your own.
我的反馈。 在获取他人的反馈之前，先从自己那里获取反馈。暂时离开你的工作，以获得新的视角。斯蒂芬·金 将他的草稿放置六周，以使自己不再熟悉。你希望他人的反馈集中在你遗漏的地方，而不是你自己本可以发现的地方。

Their feedback. Once you've addressed your own, it's time to ask others for feedback. It's best to ask people similiar to you, because they represent the target audience. Instead of asking questions with non-actionable answers, like is it good?, ask:
他们的反馈。 一旦你处理了自己的反馈，就该向他人寻求反馈了。最好向与你相似的人询问，因为他们代表了目标受众。与其问一些没有可操作性答案的问题，比如 这好吗？，不如问：

• ▪ what did you take away from this?
  你从中得到了什么？
• ▪ what would your add, remove or modify and why?
  你会添加、删除或修改什么，为什么？
• ▪ is there a part you want to know more about?
  你想了解哪一部分更多？

“If you aren't trying to get real feedback from people who know you, you're cooking without tasting. This is, like, the lowest hanging fruit for self-improvement.”
“如果你不试图从了解你的人那里获得真实的反馈，那你就是在烹饪却不尝味。这是自我提升中最简单的途径。”

As a meaningful thanks, acknowledge them in the post.
作为有意义的感谢，在帖子中提及他们。

When to stop revising. Some author's push out content quickly, while others, like Paul graham, spend two weeks on an essay and re-write drafts 50 times. Should you aim for quantity or quality? Quantity allows for faster output, more experimentation, and quicker feedback. You will be more motivated to start a new post if the previous took only a couple of days compared to months. However, rushing risks producing half-baked work, offering little value. We pollute the internet posting content with little thought behind it. You won't learn as much compared to slowing down and really putting the time into what you're doing. Jame Joyce, author of Ulysses, the greatest novel of the 20^th century, wrote at a rate of 100 words a day for seven years. T. S. Eliot averaged half a page a month for 25 years.
何时停止修订。 一些作者快速发布内容，而另一些作者，如保罗·格雷厄姆，会花两周时间写一篇文章并重写草稿 50 次。你应该追求数量还是质量？数量允许更快的输出、更多的实验和更快的反馈。如果之前的文章只花了几天时间，而不是几个月，你会更有动力开始新的帖子。然而，匆忙可能会导致产生半成品的工作，提供很少的价值。我们在互联网上发布内容时，往往缺乏深思熟虑。 与其匆忙，不如放慢脚步，真正投入时间去做你正在做的事情，这样你会学到更多。詹姆斯·乔伊斯，20^世纪最伟大的小说《尤利西斯》的作者，曾以每天 100 个单词的速度写作，持续了七年。T.S.艾略特在 25 年里平均每月写半页。

“It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.”
“我并不是那么聪明，只是我在问题上停留得更久。”

Treasure 宝藏

Using thoughts. Have you ever been to a lecture, understood everything, then attempted to solve a problem based on the content and been unable to? This is because thoughts are signals surrounded by noise. Your understanding may feel complete, but it's only when you use your thoughts, like attempting to solve the problem, that the noise is filtered out and the signal exposed. Revealing how strong or weak, how well or little you understand. Exposing knowledge gaps, poor logic and bias. Using thoughts reduces what you think you know to what you actually know.
使用思维。 你是否曾经参加过一场讲座，理解了所有内容，然后尝试根据内容解决一个问题却无法做到？这是因为思维是被噪音包围的信号。你的理解可能感觉完整，但只有当你使用你的思维，比如尝试解决问题时，噪音才会被过滤掉，信号才会显露出来。揭示你理解的强弱、好坏。暴露知识的空白、逻辑的缺陷和偏见。使用思维将你认为自己知道的减少到你实际知道的。

Skill. I used to think writing was simply copying my thoughts onto paper. It's not. It's another way to use thoughts. It's also a way to dedicate time to intentional thinking. Thinking, being a skill, only gets better the more you use it.
技能。 我曾经认为写作只是将我的想法复制到纸上。其实不是。写作是使用思想的另一种方式。它也是一种专注于有意思考的时间投入。思考作为一种技能，使用得越多就越好。

“No skill is more valuable or harder to come by than the ability to critically think. Thinking better than others means you'll have more free time and fewer problems. If you can't think well, you'll spend a lot of time fixing avoidable mistakes. If you stop thinking when most people stop thinking, you'll come to the same conclusions most people come to. Thinking is hard, so it's natural that most people stop as soon as possible. We get the gist of something and move on to the next problem.”
“没有任何技能比批判性思维的能力更有价值或更难获得。思考得比别人更好意味着你会有更多的自由时间和更少的问题。如果你不能很好地思考，你将花费大量时间来修正可以避免的错误。如果你在大多数人停止思考时也停止思考，你将得出大多数人得出的相同结论。思考是困难的，因此大多数人尽快停止思考是很自然的。我们了解事物的要点，然后转向下一个问题。”

Discovery. Because writing exposes what you don't know, it provides an opportunity to correct that. It is the process by which we realize we don't understand and the process we come to understand. It's an act of discovery, not just expression.
发现。 因为写作暴露了你不知道的东西，它提供了纠正的机会。这是我们意识到自己不理解的过程，也是我们理解的过程。这是一种发现的行为，而不仅仅是表达。

Focused thinking. When I take a walk, my mind drifts to random thoughts. But when I write, my thinking becomes deliberate, focused on something specific. Something I chose because it moves me closer to my goals. Focus thinking is powerful because, as Earl Nightingale said, "we become what we think about." - Earl Nightingale. He asks us to imagine a farmer with a plot of fertile land. The land offers the farmer a choice: plant anything, and it will grow. The land doesn't care what's planted, it's up to the farmer to decide. Now, compare this land to the human mind. Like the land, the mind doesn't care what you plant in it; it will simply return what you put in. Suppose the farmer holds two seeds in his hand: one for corn and one for nightshade, a deadly poison. He plants both, cares for them equally, and what happens? The land produces both—corn and poison. The mind works the same way. Whether you plant success or failure, clarity or confusion, the mind will return exactly what you sow. A blog mirrors the author's mind. It is farm land and posts are seeds.
专注思考。 当我散步时，我的思绪会漂浮到随机的想法上。但当我写作时，我的思考变得有意图，专注于某个特定的事物。是我选择的某样东西，因为它让我更接近我的目标。专注思考是强大的，因为正如厄尔·奈廷格尔所说，"我们成为我们所思考的东西." - 厄尔·奈廷格尔。他让我们想象一个拥有一块肥沃土地的农民。这块土地给农民提供了选择：种植任何东西，它都会生长。土地不在乎种植什么，决定权在于农民。现在，把这块土地与人类的思维进行比较。就像土地一样，思维不在乎你在里面种植什么；它只会回报你所投入的东西。假设农民手中握着两颗种子：一颗是玉米，另一颗是有毒的夜 shade。他种下两者，平等地照料它们，结果会怎样？土地同时产生了玉米和毒药。思维的运作方式也是如此。无论你种下成功还是失败，清晰还是混乱，思维都会准确地回报你所播种的。博客反映了作者的思维。它是农田，帖子是种子。

Public. A blog being public means others can see what you are growing on your farm. "Writing is a bat signal for your tribe" - Julian Shapiro. It can open up opportunities that bring you closer to achieving your goals.
公开。 博客公开意味着其他人可以看到你在农场上种植的内容。“写作是你部落的蝙蝠信号” - 朱利安·夏皮罗。这可以为你打开机会，使你更接近实现目标。

References 参考文献

• 35 Lessons from 35 Years of Newsletter Publishing
  35 年通讯出版的 35 个教训
• 7 Writing Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
  我以艰难的方式学到的 7 个写作课程
• Ask HN: How to get better at writing?
  问 HN：如何提高写作能力？
• Dan Harmon 丹·哈蒙
• Don't think to write, write to think
  不要想着写，写着思考
• Finding Fulfillment 寻找满足感
• George Orwell's Six Rules for Writing
  乔治·奥威尔的写作六条规则
• Harvard expert shares the No. 1 lesson to learn from Warren Buffett's career: "You can't be really successful" without it
  哈佛专家分享了从沃伦·巴菲特的职业生涯中学到的第一课：“没有它，你无法真正成功。”
• How I learned to stop worrying and structure all writing as a list
  我如何学会停止担忧并将所有写作结构化为列表
• How To Edit Your Own Lousy Writing
  如何编辑你自己糟糕的写作
• How to be a tech influencer.
  如何成为科技影响者。
• How to write with style
  如何优雅地写作
• NONFICTION WRITING ADVICE
  非虚构写作建议
• Nobody cares about your blog.
  没人关心你的博客。
• Putting Ideas into Words 将想法付诸文字
• Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems
  速度很重要：为什么快速工作比看起来更重要
• Story structure - the hidden framework that hangs your story together
  故事结构 - 将你的故事串联在一起的隐秘框架
• The Need to Read 阅读的必要性
• The Savings Expert: “Do Not Buy A House!” Do THIS Instead! - Morgan Housel
  储蓄专家：“不要买房！”改为这样做！- 摩根·豪塞尔
• The Skill You've Never Been Taught: How to Think Better
  你从未被教过的技能：如何更好地思考
• The Surprising Reason Writing Remains Essential in an AI-Driven World
  在人工智能驱动的世界中，写作仍然至关重要的惊人原因
• These clips are two of the best pieces of writing advice you will ever get about writing on the internet.
  这些视频是你在互联网上写作时能得到的最佳写作建议之一。
• Tips for making writing more fun
  让写作更有趣的技巧
• Video Games and the Future of Education
  视频游戏与教育的未来
• We Become What We Think About
  我们成为我们所思考的
• What I Did Not Learn About Writing In School
  我在学校没有学到的写作知识
• What to read to become a better writer
  要成为更好的作家应该读什么
• Why Engineers Need To Write
  工程师为何需要写作
• Why I Blog 我为什么写博客
• Why Write? 为什么写作？
• Why You Should Create Content in 2024 [Naval Ravikant, Chamath Palihapitiya, MrBeast]
  为什么你应该在 2024 年创作内容 [纳瓦尔·拉维坎特，查马斯·帕里哈皮提亚，MrBeast]
• Why You Should Start a Blog Right Now
  为什么你现在应该开始写博客
• Why and how to write things on the Internet
  为什么以及如何在互联网上写东西
• Write about what you learn. It pushes you to understand topics better.
  写下你所学到的东西。这会促使你更好地理解主题。
• Write like you code 像你编程一样写作
• Writing Better 写得更好
• Writing one sentence per line
  逐行写一句话
• Writing summaries is more important than reading more books
  写摘要比多读书更重要

Feedback 反馈

Have any feedback about this note or just want to comment on the state of the economy?
对这条备注有任何反馈，或者只是想评论一下经济状况吗？