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Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 8, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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How do you become a better writer ?

I think and speak in a casual rambly manner. It is good for story telling in person. I'm animated and do quite a lot of voice modulation, so long sentences don't feel as bad. It's allowed me be quick on my feet and can give an impromptu speech with zero notice.

But, in professional settings, it feels cumbersome. I hate reading my own writing back to myself and my elevator pitches feel lacking. The sharp edge of a well-made point gets lost in the layers of qualification and verbose filler.

I want to get better at being concise and pointed. Any suggestions for where I can start ?

Writing more helps. I really like CGP Grey's half-marks for habit forming. Basically, you make a calendar that has a empty circle for each day and each activity you want to improve on. For each activity you write down the criteria for full effort (fully colored circle), and for partial effort (semi-colored circle). But the cutoff for partial effort is not 50% of full, it's more like 10%. So, for working out you might put: "do a full upper or lower body workout" for full effort and "do one set of bodyweight squats or push-ups to failure or spend five minutes stretching" for partial effort.

Do the same with writing. Have "write a page of text" for full effort and "write a single sentence or edit two" for partial effort. Then print the calendar out and start coloring in the circles. You look at your streak of circles every day and it's really easy to start writing or working out because if you're not feeling it today you can just do a little bit and stop while awarding yourself partial credit.