I think I have some excellent advice for you this time.
I’ve noticed very recently that in my own writing I tend to optimize for the strength of individual sentences instead of for the strength of paragraphs or arguments as a whole. Because I write one sentence at a time, it’s tempting to have each sentence make its point as direct and powerfully as possible. But this is a little bit like playing each note of a song as loudly as possible in an attempt at maximum musical impact. A more skilled performer would play some notes softly, others louder, and use that to emphasize certain ideas over others within the work. I think writing is the same way, and some sentences or paragraphs should be softer or louder than others. The main function of some sentences should be what they do for other sentences, rather than their own arguments. Changing my writing habits in this way will be difficult, but I think eventually highly rewarding.
I don’t know whether you have a similar problem or not. But I suspect it’s a common one, and hope someone will find this advice useful even if you don’t.
I think I have some excellent advice for you this time.
I’ve noticed very recently that in my own writing I tend to optimize for the strength of individual sentences instead of for the strength of paragraphs or arguments as a whole. Because I write one sentence at a time, it’s tempting to have each sentence make its point as direct and powerfully as possible. But this is a little bit like playing each note of a song as loudly as possible in an attempt at maximum musical impact. A more skilled performer would play some notes softly, others louder, and use that to emphasize certain ideas over others within the work. I think writing is the same way, and some sentences or paragraphs should be softer or louder than others. The main function of some sentences should be what they do for other sentences, rather than their own arguments. Changing my writing habits in this way will be difficult, but I think eventually highly rewarding.
I don’t know whether you have a similar problem or not. But I suspect it’s a common one, and hope someone will find this advice useful even if you don’t.