What is the best way to improve writing skills and become a master of it?
如何最有效地提高并熟練掌握寫作技能？
James Altucher
對(duì)，你已經(jīng)來(lái)不及了，別做夢(mèng)了。
沒(méi)錯(cuò)，20歲起步已然晚矣。很不幸，你永遠(yuǎn)都不會(huì)成為作家。所以這點(diǎn)無(wú)所謂，不過(guò)……
你還是要每天閱讀，每天寫作。即使沒(méi)得寫也要盯著空白的屏幕發(fā)呆（雷蒙德·錢德勒的訣竅）。 (譯者注：雷蒙德·錢德勒是美國(guó)偵探小說(shuō)家，硬漢派推理代表人物，著有《漫長(zhǎng)的告別》等。)
為什么要閱讀和寫作？因?yàn)槟阆矚g。
你應(yīng)該讀什么？
選擇代入感強(qiáng)、仿佛置身書中的作者去閱讀?！独先伺c?！愤@本書的風(fēng)格可以引領(lǐng)你進(jìn)入一望無(wú)際的大海。
《萬(wàn)有引力之虹》荒誕不經(jīng)的寫作風(fēng)格正映襯了故事情節(jié)的離奇。
甚至約翰.格里森姆這種不按套路（“沒(méi)有風(fēng)格”）的作者也能讓情節(jié)跌宕起伏。(譯者注：約翰·格里森姆是美國(guó)暢銷小說(shuō)作家，他的作品絕大多數(shù)是情節(jié)緊張、結(jié)局出人意料，但又不失深度的法律懸念小說(shuō)。)
不停地閱讀，然后嘗試模仿，直到練就獨(dú)有的寫作風(fēng)格。
你自己的風(fēng)格一直根植于心。20年來(lái)形成的風(fēng)格在你的潛意識(shí)里蠢蠢欲動(dòng)，就像被引誘的蛇一樣。但是把腦海里的蛇化為文字還需要技巧。
通過(guò)閱讀可以意識(shí)到你內(nèi)心有多少考古地層，在找到現(xiàn)存古代文明的真跡之前，你需要不斷摸索前行。
而寫作是實(shí)實(shí)在在的挖掘，直到碰觸文物的碎片，讓它們得見(jiàn)天日。
20歲太遲嗎？當(dāng)然，你打出生起就來(lái)不及做有意義的事情了。一旦了然于心，就可坦然面對(duì)。
現(xiàn)在你可以心無(wú)旁騖地寫作了。歸根結(jié)底，這才是創(chuàng)作出有價(jià)值作品的關(guān)鍵。
James Altucher
YES, YOU ARE WAY TOO LATE. IT'S OVER.
Yes, at the age of 20 you are too late. Unfortunately, you will never make it as a writer. So now it no longer matters. But...
Read every day anyway. Write every day anyway. Even stare at a blank screen if you have nothing to write about (Raymond Chandler's trick).
Why should you read and write? Because you love it.
What should you read?
Read writers where the style is almost like a character in the story itself. In 'Old Man and the Sea' the style the book is written in makes you think of the starkness of the sea.
In 'Gravity's Rainbow', the frenetic craziness of the style is a mirror of the plot of the book.
Even in John Grisham, the sparseness of the style (the 'no-style') allows the plot to shine through.
Read, read, read. Then try to copy the styles of the people you read until you have your own style.
Your own style is there. It's deep inside of you. You have 20 years of style, all twirled around your subconscious, like a snake ready to be charmed out. But it takes skill to tease the snake out of your mind and onto the paper.
Reading helps you realize how many archaeological layers inside of you, you have to go until you find the real ancient civilization that exists.
And writing is the actual digging until you hit the remnants of those relics so you can show them to the outside world.
Is 20 too old? Yes, of course it is. The moment you were born you were too old to do anything meaningful. Once you realize that, you can relax.
Now you can write and not care at all. Which is ultimately the key to making something worth reading.
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