stovellp

In an attempt to improve my own writing styles, I think I need to take more notice of other peoples work, especially work that I admire.

One of my favourite authors is Joel Spolsky, a software developer who writes a lot of opinionative articles on software development. Lots of people love his work, and I am no exception. Here is a sample of his work.

But I find after I've read something, I remember all the content really well, and I take a lot of notice of what he's saying, but I forget totally about how he said it. I don't pay attention to grammar, punctuation, structure of the document, what the his main point was, or anything like that. Sometimes he makes me laugh, but I never remember why, just that he does.

So, I'm looking for a bit of a "checklist", if you will, of items to go through after reading such an article. Things that will make me think about how he got his points accross, and what makes his writing better than mine.

What do you look for when reading artciles like this?

__________________
"A butterfly under the glass, You are beautiful but your not going anywhere." - Incubus

Kat

Just what you said. You don't want to notice things like grammer, punctuation, or style. It should feel natural not forced. I don't try and pick them apart but if I did....

Where did he place the main points and where did he support them?
How did he transition from one point to another?

What are the main ideas in the story? Follow each idea seperatly and see how they converge.

I think that a lot of what makes reading articles seemless is the transition. You also need to think about ancedotes, they make it more relatable. And direct quotes, make you seem more credible.

Do you plan on writing articles? Or is this for school? Most articles follow Pyramid form.
Lead, Backup or quote, Nut graph (basic idea of the story), background, ellaboration and ending.
That's just the basic idea.

__________________
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. -Sarah Williams

stovellp

Thanks Kat, I'm going to start taking note of those things from now on. Thanks for the help!

Haha, I don't really want to be well known for my writing, but I would like to be able to write my ideas down and to communicate them accross in a clear and concise manner. It is not a school thing either, I guess I am just looking for to improve in an area I feel I am lacking in.

From now on, I'm going to be more aware of what I am reading!

__________________
"A butterfly under the glass, You are beautiful but your not going anywhere." - Incubus

Kat

I don't know how old you are but in college I actually majored in journalism for awhile. It wan't for me. Too restricting. But if you have trouble getting out your words in what you feel is a consice manner it might be for you. They have very specific rules on what to say where. It was a good learning experiance. If I hadn't of hated interviewing I probably would have enjoyed it. Don't know if you can take a journalism class but I would rcommend it.

__________________
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. -Sarah Williams