How to learn writing? Although I have been writing (and publishing) for most of my life, I recently started to question my abilities, especially writing in English, which is foreign to me.

I would like to know of your experiences. Do you know good guides about writing for the new channels which have appeared during the last few years? (I mean weblogs, online journals etc.) What are the key skills for writing today (apart from "clarity, clarity, clarity")?

I have made a list of a few books about writing (or for writers) which I have read (and reviewed) during the last five years. Here is a pointer to the list:

http://radio.weblogs.com/0112083/stories/2002/09/01/learningToWrite.html

The following two short guides go straight to the point:

- Elements of Style (William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, Roger Angell)
- The Golden Book of Writing (David Lambuth, Budd Schulberg)

The following two guides on writing are my favorites because of their personal style and positive attitude to writing:

- On Writing Well (William Zinsser)
- Writing to Learn (William Zinsser)

There are many books about the craft of writing for (aspiring) writers. The following are found in my bookshelf:

- Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury)
- Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott)
- Line by Line (Claire Kehrwald Cook)
- Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Joseph M. Williams)
- Writing from the Inner Self (Elaine Farris Hughes)
- Writing Down the Bones (Natalie Goldberg, Judith Guest)
- If You Can Talk, You Can Write (Joel Saltzman)

The following books are aimed for the working mathematician (or anyone writing about mathematics):

- Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences (Nicholas J. Higham)
- A Primer of Mathematical Writing: Being a Disquisition on Having Your Ideas Recorded, Typeset, Published, Read & Appreciated (Steven G. Krantz)

Actually, I think writing's more of a thing where you shouldn't need a manual telling you how to do it. Grammar books, dictionaries, sure, but not "How-to-Write" guides. Like poetry, no boundaries; just free up your mind, and put words on a page. :)

You mean like a surgeon and part-time writer told William Zinsser in a radio interview: "Don't edit, don't rewrite, let it all hang out." Perhaps I also should take on doing surgery on the side?

I think writing is one of the hardest things people do. So if you want to make some kind of lasting impression, you have to learn the craft. I agree that you can't teach writing - but you can learn, at least from good examples.

But I don't believe in the grammar books. There are too many unclear texts with excellent grammar.

What can unclear writing cause? An example: before the nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island site a couple of engineers had written a warning report. However, the report was so badly written that nobody took action.

Today that report is used as a case study of failed communication. The engineers got more readers than they thought, but not the way they would have liked.

I see your point, especially about the botched warning report. :eek: But I don't quite agree with Zinsser's philosophy. I think I meant that writing is more of a "learn-and-adapt-as-you-go" process.

I think some of the best ways to learn writing is to actually read some books, and interact with other people. I find that I can learn a lot about expressions and euphemisms from other people of different backgrounds, and so can incorporate them into my own stuff.

Say, what kind of writing are you planning to do? :)

I'm thinking about moving from "professional" texts (mainly numerical mathematics and computer science) to more creative writing in English. However, this is difficult. To quote myself: "Writing in English is for me like wearing too strong eyeglasses and winter gloves while writing. The right words don't come easy, and sentences are awkward and halting."

So, to improve the fluency I have to write in English different kinds of texts than I have previously managed to write. I have started up a weblog for doing my exercises. ;) There I can post both short pieces and longer stories.

I'm interested in these new formats which are becoming popular: weblogs, online magazines, personal journals etc. So, I'm wondering if anyone has (yet) managed to write a "writer's guide" type of thing for the new web formats? Of course, there is documentation for Radio UserLand etc., but that is not quite the same thing.

Oh hey, a weblog! They have something like it at livejournal.com, where you write an online diary and other people can comment about it. However, you have to pay, or have someone sponsor you. Strange thing is, an online diary is quite the oxymoron. :rolleyes: :D