Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by andreshb | Hacker News Reader

Full thread

andreshb

Lists make writing easier

1. I write ideas without worrying about transitions

2. I can quickly review if I’m missing any important point

3. Forces me to simplify what I try to communicate with less words and more meaning

View on HN

I really am starting to feel like any writing I do that is not intended to be read by others should be in list form. When writing prose, I often catch myself worrying about "meta" things that have nothing to do with the ideas I'm trying to convey: phrasing, rhythm, vocabulary, etc. I feel it's just impossible to write prose without worrying about this stuff. It's like I'm always trying to impress someone with my writing. I think there's a time and place for that, but not when the only audience is me.

Next step, multiple/nested lists:

* Pros:

  * starts as a list

  * gradual enhancement

* Cons:

  \* interior items lead to excessive depth

     * loses horizontal space

     * crashes space shuttles

* each transition type needs another list

Interesting:

* This is a metalist.

If you're making a list, you still need to pay attention to the order of your list and how things flow from item to item. You're still doing transitions.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com