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[–]ScottAlexander 18 points19 points  (7 children)

I guess I don't really understand why it takes so many people so long to write. They seem to be able to talk instantaneously, and writing isn't that different from speech. Why can't they just say what they want to say, but instead of speaking it aloud, write it down?

[–]super-commenting 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Have you seen a transcript of a Donald Trump speech? It's terrible. Way worse than watching a video of him saying the same thing. This happens to a lot of people if they try to write like they talk.

[–]honeypuppy 16 points17 points  (3 children)

It's possible you have an uncanny ability to coherently string words together in a small amount of time. (By comparison, I spent a couple of minutes deciding how to phrase that, and I'm still not super happy with it).

Maybe you're just genetically gifted, but maybe it's learnable, too? Perhaps if I just wrote everything stream-of-consciousness, I might sound a bit stupid for a while, but I'd be able to write a lot more, and this practice will eventually lead me to writing... more... better.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have issues with stiff writing and it helps a bit to write as if I were talking, though ironically the hardest thing about that is how much slower typing is compared to talking. I'm a fast typist but touch-typing on a keyboard simply isn't fast enough to match typical talking speed. (I figure that's why court reporters use a tool that's totally different from a standard keyboard.) So my mind gets ahead of my typing.

One thing I've experimented with a bit is using speech-to-text to generate an ultra-rough draft, then cleaning it up after. Google Docs has pretty good speech-to-text built in. This seems to work though it's a bit of trouble to do it for small amounts of text.

[–]agree-with-you 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree, this does seem possible.

[–]agree-with-you -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree, this does seem possible.

[–]Mr2001Steamed Hams but it's my flair 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think those people would struggle to ad-lib a speech the length of a blog post, with a beginning, middle, and end, too. Have you observed any evolution/refinement in your writing style over the years that might offer a clue about what you're doing differently?

[–]aaeiou90OMSK IN THE THE SPRINGTIME 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it's for the same reason that pair programming works. Or why there are more successful bands than successful bedroom musicians. It's easier to find motivation when someone else is immediately involved in what you're doing.