##Writing for Humans
The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think. –Edwin Schlossberg
- Writing is essential to the development of a career in the tech, and as an added benefit, you will gain a deeper understanding of your own vision and practice by articulating what you are doing and why you are doing it.
- My tips are meant to help with all kinds of expository writing; blog posts, documentation, as well as auto-biographical or persuasive writing, like cover letters or proposals.
###THIS IS SO HARD
What are you writing about? generating content is the hard part. Here are some strategies and things to keep in mind;
- Sometimes you get to choose your subject- AWESOME! choose something you care about.
- one way to start is to record yourself talking about your subject. Talk to your mother about something technical you want to explain. Talk to somone who loves to debate about an opinion you hold. Did you're mom fail to understand? Did you lose the debate? Try again! More Research! Record your conversation and then transcribe it, or simply ask your mom/friend to take notes for you.
- when you start writing, don't worry about spelling, grammar, economy, organization, or, more broadly- your reader. Just put your ideas and findings into words. Word vomit.
###3 parts to a complete written statement;
- Identify/Introduce 5. this part should tell the reader, briefly, what to expect. It would be amazing if that was not exactly what they were expecting when they started reading. 6. There should be one sentence (sometimes called a thesis sentence) that clearly states a single idea arising from your subject; A thesis is basically a ‘claim statement’; it indicates what you claim to be true or interesting or valuable about your subject. The sentence must be precise enough to limit the scope of the thing you are writing, general enough to need clarification and support and it must be defensible.
- Analysis/ Development of Proof/ Refutation. 8. This is the meat. Explain what needs explaining, prove your point, anticipate and crush refutation of your position. (in other words, predict and answer disagreements or questions that your reader might have)
- Conclusion: 10. summarize the main points you made, leave your reader liking what you said, nodding emphatically. You might repeat the thesis, setting it in a wider context, or a smaller, personal context. You might urge your reader to take action or reconsider an accepted viewpoint.
###Tips, do’s and don’ts
- Use lively writing and a confident tone. Write complete, highly descriptive sentences. Use a variety of sentence structures avoiding run-ons and non sequiturs. Use sentences of different lengths. Do not apologize for anything or lament problems.
- Keep it simple, short and concise.
- Make an impact. Be provocative. Make the viewer visualize your subject.
- Be objective and not overly personal or philosophical.
- Keep your verb tense straight. Use the present tense for consistency.
- Avoid over-use of prepositions (http://www.listofprepositions.org/)
- Avoid beginning a sentence “there is” or “there are.”
- Avoid using the words “really,” “very” and “interesting.” The first two are simply unnecessary. Take them out, read the sentence again- it's better. "Interesting" is a placeholder for a more specifically-suited adjective.
- Avoid clichés, euphemisms, colloquialisms and pejoratives.
- Don’t propose rhetorical questions.
- Avoid using generalized statements that are overly inclusive such as; “our world, culture, country, gender” etc.
- Take ownership of your opinions and your work; but wherever possible limit your I’s, my’s and mine’s.
- Avoid informal and conversational language.
- Print your work and proof it on paper.
- Read everything aloud. There's something about hearing your work aloud that causes you to notice things you’d miss.