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Comment by Uhhrrr | Hacker News Reader

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Uhhrrr·

This is a humor piece, not a guide (for HN readers who click on comments first).

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I disagree. There be much good advice in there; all stuff I learned in writing college.

My favorite? Rule No. 10: Revise, revise, revise.

I can't tell you how many times I've written something, had it published (through the newspaper I work at), then read it 2 weeks later and thought "DAMN! I should have changed that!!"

You disagree that it's a humor piece and not a guide? Yes, revising is incidentally a good thing for writers to do, but this is quite obviously satire if you read beyond the first sentence of each rule.

I took it to be an exercise in sarcasm to emphasize the point being made. Admittedly, though, I didn't read many of the points through all the way ;)

I do have a habit of reading partially through an article and then commenting ...

If you do not read something carefully, you will never learn anything new. The habit you have gives too much weight to your internal biases and not enough to what you're reading.

The key is, if possible, to go off and do something else for a while before revising. What seemed perfectly clear when first written will often seem a little off when reviewed with a cleared head.

It's both. The form of the writing rather than the content per se is what's meant to illustrate his points.

The points are pretty well-worn; I think he is making fun of advice to writers. Do you really think he thinks keeping a dream journal is a good idea?

Sorry, I meant: THE ARTICLE ITSELF is the lesson, not necessarily the points within.

For example, "Rule 8. Is Secret" is (possibly) illustrating #6, #4, and the humor of it #3.

It's making points, meta-points, and doing it with a sense of humor. There are good lessons at each of those levels, and it makes you think "Wait, really? Did he really mean that?"

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