Who are some of the best writers in the history of civilization?
Different writers have such different styles that I’m not sure it’s possible to measure them all on a simple linear scale from “bad writing” to “good writing”. (Or rather, of course it’s possible, but I think it reduces the dimensionality so much that the answer is no longer useful.)
If I were to construct such a linear scale, I might do so by asking “How well does this writer’s style serve his goals?” Or maybe “How well does this writer’s style match his content?” For instance, many blogs seem to be optimized for quick readability, since most people are unwilling to devote too much time to reading a blog post. On the other hand, some academic writing seems optimized for a certain kind of eloquence and formality.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that you’re asking the wrong question. Don’t ask “What makes a piece of writing good?”. Ask “How does the structure of this piece of writing lead to the effect it has on the reader?”. The closer you come to answering this question, the easier it will be to design a structure that serves your particular writing needs.
My mental image of writing quality is somewhat like a many-dimensional moss ball branching out from a central point.
In the centre there is unequivocally bad writing, mostly written by writers with no experience writing. As you follow the moss outwards the writers get better, but they get better in different ways, and different readers have different requirements.
It seems to match reality, at least somewhat. There are a lot more ways to be good at writing than there are to be bad at writing. Unfortunately, while this means it’s possible to warn people away from bad books, it makes it hard to recommend good ones.
Different writers have such different styles that I’m not sure it’s possible to measure them all on a simple linear scale from “bad writing” to “good writing”. (Or rather, of course it’s possible, but I think it reduces the dimensionality so much that the answer is no longer useful.)
If I were to construct such a linear scale, I might do so by asking “How well does this writer’s style serve his goals?” Or maybe “How well does this writer’s style match his content?” For instance, many blogs seem to be optimized for quick readability, since most people are unwilling to devote too much time to reading a blog post. On the other hand, some academic writing seems optimized for a certain kind of eloquence and formality.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that you’re asking the wrong question. Don’t ask “What makes a piece of writing good?”. Ask “How does the structure of this piece of writing lead to the effect it has on the reader?”. The closer you come to answering this question, the easier it will be to design a structure that serves your particular writing needs.
My mental image of writing quality is somewhat like a many-dimensional moss ball branching out from a central point.
In the centre there is unequivocally bad writing, mostly written by writers with no experience writing. As you follow the moss outwards the writers get better, but they get better in different ways, and different readers have different requirements.
It seems to match reality, at least somewhat. There are a lot more ways to be good at writing than there are to be bad at writing. Unfortunately, while this means it’s possible to warn people away from bad books, it makes it hard to recommend good ones.