On 27/01/2011 07:02 PM, Darren New wrote:
> Invisible wrote:
>> not good at deciding what order to explain stuff in.
>
> When you know a whole bunch about a subject, that can happen. It just
> takes practice. And writing an outline first.

Trouble is, for a large, complex topic, you usually find that you have 
to explain X before Y will make any sense. Except that instead of being 
a simple hierarchical tree of information, what you have is a tangled 
dependency web, and finding a suitable path through it is an NP-complete 
problem. Trying to find such a path that doesn't also involve jumping 
from topic to topic in a potentially baffling way only makes it harder. 
Add to that the psychology of keeping your readers interested and having 
a sense that they're getting somewhere, and...

...well, I end up drafting and re-drafting in an endless cycle which 
never produces a document of more than a few dozen pages. :-(

> If you want to get good at this, write a page-long lesson on anything
> you like, twice a week, starting with an outline. In a few weeks, you
> should be able to finish the whole essay in 20 minutes.

Writing a page or two isn't too hard. (Parsec, anyone?) Writing 
something that's 30 pages long is another matter.

> Show it to someone else each time, and ask where it was confusing.

I don't know anybody who is this patient.

>> I haven't had the pleasure of working with a professional editor yet.
>
> That's what a good high school is for. ;-)

Now I'm going to have to look up what the UK-equivalent term is...

>> Yeah. Logically, there must be books and courses and things somewhere
>> which explain how to do this properly.
>
> I would think you learn by sitting with other professional sound
> engineers. I wouldn't think "sound engineer" is something you could read
> about.

You're probably right about that.

Even if this isn't the case, it's unlikely that the necessary material 
can be accessed for free. It's more likely you'd have to pay money for that.

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