calcsam comments on Rationalist approach to developing Writing skills - Less Wrong

6 Post author: FiftyTwo 14 July 2011 03:00PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (41)

You are viewing a single comment's thread.

Comment author: calcsam 14 July 2011 04:42:17PM *  2 points [-]

In a nutshell: write a lot for helpful editors.

For two years, several hours a week, I wrote or edited for my college newspaper (The Stanford Daily) and then spent eight months working full-time in journalism internships.

I was exploring a career path but my writing skills ended up far, far better. As one commenter noted, my style tends toward "plain," "simple" and "concise." This is a reflection of my journalistic training.

My newspaper writings.

Comment author: calcsam 14 July 2011 04:58:21PM 1 point [-]

Also, if anyone wants to try this out, I can probably hook you up with one of the internships I did. It's a pretty sweet gig, you will learn a lot with a great editor in a small office. The only qualification is being reasonably intelligent. PM me.

Comment author: FiftyTwo 14 July 2011 05:38:36PM 0 points [-]

Interesting, who would you define as a 'helpful' editor? Would it be limited to people with formal journalism skills or would someone of equal ability to yourself be beneficial for the benefit of a fresh eye?

Comment author: calcsam 14 July 2011 10:13:49PM 2 points [-]

Someone of equal or greater ability who can clearly explain their judgments.

Editors in a formal journalistic setting carry responsibility; if something is difficult to understand, wrong, or badly worded they're on the hook. Whereas a friend is more likely to say 'Oh that's nice' for fear of offending you.