Sandra Dodd

This group/discussion/list is old. It was founded in 2001. It might have been busier, but I was writing in more than one yahoogroup at the time. So were many others. The busiest months have had over 1000 posts. Because I have stressed that each post should be useful, and we have not allowed fluff posts, those are some serious numbers. The lightest month had 44 posts, but there have been ten months over the years with over 1000 posts. Hundreds of posts a month, on average.

Why does that matter?

Those who really want to do well here—to learn the most and to be the most helpful—should read the policies and some of the description and history. There's a link on the main page at yahoogroups, but here:

http://sandradodd.com/lists/alwayslearning

On the page about posting (linked there), there is a list that's been around for all or most of the history of this group.

ALL posts should be
• honest
• proofread
• sincere
• clear http://sandradodd.com/lists/alwayslearningPOSTS

Someone wrote to me on the side today:

"Trying to be clear and trying to be brief at the same time is making this difficult. Both times, I meant ... [some qualification that did not show in the statements]. People would be wrong if they called me dishonest."

I don't need to know what the truth is to know when someone is being dishonest if she writes (in writing, where she could have proofread) one clear statement, and then writes a statement that contradicts the first one. It doesn't matter to me which is which. What matters to me is that the person should be more careful, more thoughtful, clearer in her own thoughts and in her analysis (privately pondered or publicly shared), for her own benefit, and for the benefit of her children.

No post to this group should be dishonest, a rushed-off first draft, insincere or murky/muddy/confusing.
ALL posts should be honest, proofread, sincere and clear.

http://sandradodd.com/clarity

Sandra

Celeste Burke

-== Trying to be clear and trying to be brief at the same time is making this difficult. ==-

I've been reading "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser. The first few chapters address length and clarity. It points out that writing well is a process. Great paragraphs don't appear on the page the first time they are written. Each word is work for the person helping. It is in your best interest to make your posts as easy to read and understand as possible. Writing clearly, thinking clearly, take work. The more work you do, the less work the people helping need to do which leaves them more energy to help you.

On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 5:29 PM Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

This group/discussion/list is old. It was founded in 2001. It might have been busier, but I was writing in more than one yahoogroup at the time. So were many others. The busiest months have had over 1000 posts. Because I have stressed that each post should be useful, and we have not allowed fluff posts, those are some serious numbers. The lightest month had 44 posts, but there have been ten months over the years with over 1000 posts. Hundreds of posts a month, on average.

Why does that matter?

Those who really want to do well here—to learn the most and to be the most helpful—should read the policies and some of the description and history. There's a link on the main page at yahoogroups, but here:

http://sandradodd.com/lists/alwayslearning

On the page about posting (linked there), there is a list that's been around for all or most of the history of this group.

ALL posts should be
• honest
• proofread
• sincere
• clear http://sandradodd.com/lists/alwayslearningPOSTS

Someone wrote to me on the side today:

"Trying to be clear and trying to be brief at the same time is making this difficult. Both times, I meant ... [some qualification that did not show in the statements]. People would be wrong if they called me dishonest."

I don't need to know what the truth is to know when someone is being dishonest if she writes (in writing, where she could have proofread) one clear statement, and then writes a statement that contradicts the first one. It doesn't matter to me which is which. What matters to me is that the person should be more careful, more thoughtful, clearer in her own thoughts and in her analysis (privately pondered or publicly shared), for her own benefit, and for the benefit of her children.

No post to this group should be dishonest, a rushed-off first draft, insincere or murky/muddy/confusing.
ALL posts should be honest, proofread, sincere and clear.

http://sandradodd.com/clarity

Sandra

Sandra Dodd

-=-Writing clearly, thinking clearly, take work. The more work you do, the less work the people helping need to do which leaves them more energy to help you.-=-

At first, more time and attention than 'work.' And after a while, better writing will come more easily.

It's the same process as any other kind of growth and change we talk about here—make the better choice. Doing it the first time might seem awkward. Doing it the 500th time might feel like flying.

Sandra

Alex & Brian Polikowsky

And to add to what was said:

Once you become careful with what you write and  stop to think what words to chose and you strive to be clear your thoughts will follow.

Writing carefully will transform your thinking and you will become more thoughtful and clear.
That is when the ideas discussed here will become easier to apply.
 
Alex Polikowsky








Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 11, 2015, at 6:15 PM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

-=-Writing clearly, thinking clearly, take work. The more work you do, the less work the people helping need to do which leaves them more energy to help you.-=-

At first, more time and attention than 'work.' And after a while, better writing will come more easily.

It's the same process as any other kind of growth and change we talk about here—make the better choice. Doing it the first time might seem awkward. Doing it the 500th time might feel like flying.

Sandra