Do you mean the one about him not writing any books? I don't think that's unsupportive, it's true, as far as I know.
I've got a lot of respect for Feynman and his way of explaining things — and I actually really enjoyed parts of The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out and some of the writeups of his lectures. I'm not as into Surely You're Joking as a lot of people, that's fair enough.
At uni we were steered towards writers who used simple words and short sentences; Carver, Hemingway and modern poets were the stars. It’s taken me years to gain the confidence to write longer sentences and (I hope) to enrich my writing.
I heard the other day that no one uses semicolons these days. What better impetus to start using a few more?
Yeah, I think it's easy to get the sense that short, almost clipped sentences are somehow more raw, or 'real' — but I really don't think that stands up if you read a book like Middlemarch. This has a colon AND a semi-colon, and it's one of the final lines that stands out most in my memory:
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
I’ve been rereading Anthony Powell’s Dance to the Music of Time. A master of long, complex often amusing sentences! Lots of punctuation! I never ‘got it’ at school🧑🎓.
As a copywriter who struggles with the same thing, I found this so helpful. I really appreciate how clear and encouraging your newsletters are – thank you, Joel!
I'm really glad to hear this! I'll be honest, I put this one out going "I hope this is helpful to some people, I'm not sure I'm articulating it properly" (ironic given the subject). So I'm glad it worked!
I like it! I try to think of writing for an audience like passing to a teammate in a football match: your teammate doesn’t care how fast you kick the ball, or whether you do three stepovers before kicking the ball; they only care about how easily they can receive the ball.
Surprised you used a picture of Richard Feynmann lecturing after your not so supportive comment on your science book review.
Do you mean the one about him not writing any books? I don't think that's unsupportive, it's true, as far as I know.
I've got a lot of respect for Feynman and his way of explaining things — and I actually really enjoyed parts of The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out and some of the writeups of his lectures. I'm not as into Surely You're Joking as a lot of people, that's fair enough.
At uni we were steered towards writers who used simple words and short sentences; Carver, Hemingway and modern poets were the stars. It’s taken me years to gain the confidence to write longer sentences and (I hope) to enrich my writing.
I heard the other day that no one uses semicolons these days. What better impetus to start using a few more?
Yeah, I think it's easy to get the sense that short, almost clipped sentences are somehow more raw, or 'real' — but I really don't think that stands up if you read a book like Middlemarch. This has a colon AND a semi-colon, and it's one of the final lines that stands out most in my memory:
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
I’ve been rereading Anthony Powell’s Dance to the Music of Time. A master of long, complex often amusing sentences! Lots of punctuation! I never ‘got it’ at school🧑🎓.
As a copywriter who struggles with the same thing, I found this so helpful. I really appreciate how clear and encouraging your newsletters are – thank you, Joel!
I'm really glad to hear this! I'll be honest, I put this one out going "I hope this is helpful to some people, I'm not sure I'm articulating it properly" (ironic given the subject). So I'm glad it worked!
If you play Balatro, you are productive NONE of the time
Hahah I'm good for all the time I'm not specifically playing Balatro (almost bored of it now too, I don't see it lasting long)
I almost threw my iphone in a well because of vampire survivor, I dare not go near Balatro
I like it! I try to think of writing for an audience like passing to a teammate in a football match: your teammate doesn’t care how fast you kick the ball, or whether you do three stepovers before kicking the ball; they only care about how easily they can receive the ball.
And sorry to hear about your friend's troubles. Glad you could be there for them. I'm sure they appreciated it.
Excellent advice. loved it! Thank you.