: Re: Mother is writing a book, thinks writing her life stories is same as telling them My mother is a celebrity in a small niche world. Her contribution and experiences are wonderful and should

@Annie587

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Your mother picks up on how unintuitive writing is. It's so unintuitive, we need years of schooling to become functionally literate. However, years of schooling sometimes don't come to understand one of the most powerful and intuitive styles we can write in: classic style.

Classic style is modeled on conversation. As you read classic style, you might as well imagine someone standing in front of you talking to you. This might sound informal, but it's far from it. Descartes, Jefferson, Steven Pinker (who introduced me to the style through his book on writing), and many other first-rate thinkers use this style. So do novelists and poets described in Clear and Simple as The Truth.

Why am I saying this? If your mother is writing a text that is modeled on conversation, then you can go forward knowing that the text will be any bit as respectable as 'formal' writing. Here's the issue, though: readers, in the same way as people you're having a conversation with, need to be able to understand what is being said.

So, have proofreaders. Read it yourself. Point at places where things aren't clear. If your mother won't take criticism from you, have a friend/peer who she will listen to. Just make sure other people can understand what your mother says!

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