Hacker News with Generative AI: Writing

A decade later, a decade lost (2024) (meyerweb.com)
I woke up this morning about an hour ahead of my alarm, the sky already light, birds calling. After a few minutes, a brief patter of rain swept across the roof and moved on.

Time, Reflection, Nature, Writing

545 points by ZeWaka 6 days ago | 170 comments

Ghosts in the Shadow of the Mouse (fiddlersgreene.substack.com)
You can't go home again, but you can never really leave it.

Nostalgia, Writing, Substack

10 points by paulpauper 9 days ago | 6 comments

Mass market non-fiction has bad incentives (borretti.me)
The problem with non-fiction, and the reason most non-fiction books are not worth reading, is the interests of the reader and writer are misaligned.

Non-fiction, Publishing, Writing, Incentives

46 points by bumbledraven 9 days ago | 36 comments

The Pinball Philosophy (1975) (pinballnirvana.com)
J. ANTHONY LUKAS is a world-class pinball player who, between tilts, does some free-lance writing.

Pinball, Philosophy, Sports, Writing

62 points by Tomte 11 days ago | 15 comments

Tips for mathematical handwriting (2007) (johnkerl.org)
Now that you’re majoring in one of the technical disciplines (engineering, science, or math), you’re going to be spending a significant amount of time communicating in writing with others.

Mathematics, Education, Writing, Communication

282 points by susam 12 days ago | 158 comments

No Way Home (literaryreview.co.uk)
Since the deplorably premature death of W G Sebald in a road accident in 2001, Jo Catling, a former colleague of his at the University of East Anglia, has been among the most dedicated keepers of his flame.

Literary Criticism, Authors, Writing, UK

24 points by pepys 12 days ago | 3 comments

The Puzzle (bearblog.dev)
I admit I censor myself.

Blogging, Self-Reflection, Writing

9 points by thejamesbox 12 days ago | 17 comments

Insomnia, Control (sonnet.io)
I'm trying to get back into a regular posting schedule, so I hope you won't mind keeping things a bit less techy for a minute (or sixty). I'll do my best to follow the rules of this site: spark your curiosity, entertain you or, at the very least, inspire you (because you'll realise you can do it even better!).

Personal Essays, Writing, Creativity

72 points by rpastuszak 15 days ago | 41 comments

How Translation Works, Book Title Edition (scalzi.com)
As any translator will tell you, translating a piece of fiction isn’t about simply transcribing words one-to-one from one language to another. It’s about capturing a vibe — making sure the tone and intent of the piece come through in words when a mere transliteration would fail.

Translation, Fiction, Language, Writing, Literature

61 points by janpio 17 days ago | 21 comments

A luminous, brave, and unputdownable article about blurbs (countercraft.substack.com)
Blurbs. Can’t live with them, can’t live a luminous tour-de-force life of tender-hearted lyricism and soul-nourishing honesty without them.

Writing, Storytelling, Substack, Online Publishing

8 points by benbreen 17 days ago | 2 comments

Don't make fun of renowned author Dan Brown (2013) (wordpress.com)
Renowned author Dan Brown woke up in his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house – and immediately he felt angry.

Authors, Writing, Humor

253 points by fanf2 18 days ago | 227 comments

The Power of Poetry: Why Everyone Should Write (domofutu.substack.com)
In an age of rapid communication—where texts, tweets, and emojis can dominate our daily interactions—poetry might seem like an outdated relic. But in reality, poetry offers something rare and essential: a space for deep thought, emotional exploration, and creative expression.

Poetry, Writing, Communication, Creativity

14 points by domofutu 19 days ago | 11 comments

What Makes a Good Ink Bottle? (ukfountainpens.com)
According to my swatch cards, I’ve sampled around 150 inks and most of them have been through bottles I’ve purchased. When filling my pens each week, I clearly feel that not all ink bottles are equal but I can’t quite put a finger on why. I’ve been thinking about it lately as I wrote my post on my collection and after some reflection, 4 factors stand out to me:

Pens, Ink, Writing, Reviews

14 points by bookofjoe 20 days ago | 5 comments

Signature moves: are we losing the ability to write by hand? (theguardian.com)
We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe than pick up a pen. But in the process we are in danger of losing cognitive skills, sensory experience – and a connection to history

Writing, Technology, Cognitive Skills, History

34 points by Caiero 21 days ago | 0 comments

Blogging on Paper (2017) (conroy.org)
I recently published my first blog post of 2017. The fact that it was posted exactly one year after my last post was mere coincidence. Looking over the the last six years of my blog, it's hard to really call it a blog at all.

Blogging, Writing, Personal Projects

29 points by luu 23 days ago | 12 comments

AI slop, suspicion, and writing back (benjamincongdon.me)
The impetus for this post was my recent realization that I’ve developed an involuntary reflex for spotting AI-generated content. The tells are subtle now, but (sadly? tellingly?) this sort of content is seemingly everywhere now once you start looking.

Artificial Intelligence, Content Creation, Writing, Human-Computer Interaction

231 points by todsacerdoti 26 days ago | 175 comments

Writing a tech blog people want to read (seangoedecke.com)
My blog has gotten a lot of traffic in the last few months1. Here’s what I think I’ve been doing that’s working, and a few things that have been surprising to me. It’s a bit self-indulgent to write a meta post like this, but that’s what blogs are for.

Blogging, Content Creation, Writing, Technology, Traffic

38 points by gfysfm 26 days ago | 3 comments

Signature moves: are we losing the ability to write by hand? (theguardian.com)
We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe than pick up a pen. But in the process we are in danger of losing cognitive skills, sensory experience – and a connection to history

Writing, Handwriting, Technology, Cognition, History

5 points by gmays 27 days ago | 0 comments

Remembering Nan Shepherd (lrb.co.uk)
In the months following my parents’ deaths, I decided to buy a flatbed scanner as a partial fix for the drifts of paper they had accumulated after sixty years in the same house – receipts, letters, photographs, notes and diaries.

Writing, Memoir, Loss, Personal Essays

11 points by lermontov 30 days ago | 4 comments

My writing process, and how I keep it sustainable (ntietz.com)
Recently, a reader wrote to me and asked about my writing process and burnout.

Writing, Productivity, Sustainability

14 points by zdw 31 days ago | 0 comments

Typography in Ten Minutes (practicaltypography.com)
This is a bold claim, but I stand behind it: if you learn and follow these five typography rules, you will be a better typographer than nearly every writer—and even most graphic designers.

Typography, Writing, Design

13 points by lambrospetrou 36 days ago | 10 comments

Broken Belief (pastebin.com)

Beliefs, Philosophy, Writing

8 points by johnkhan 37 days ago | 1 comments

Usable DOS-based live USB media, for distraction-free writing (github.com/lproven)
This repo contains downloads of compressed disk images of bootable USB keys.

Operating Systems, Software, Writing, Productivity

10 points by todsacerdoti 37 days ago | 0 comments

The rise and fall of the English sentence (2017) (nautil.us)
The surprising forces influencing the complexity of the language we speak and write.

Language, Linguistics, History, Writing

100 points by cal85 37 days ago | 51 comments

Best Pens for 2025 (jetpens.com)
It’s almost impossible to pick a single best pen for everyone, because not everyone wants the same thing from their pens. Plus, different types of pens use different inks, so you can’t exactly compare a gel pen to a highlighter.

Writing, Pens, Reviews, 2025

168 points by beermonster 39 days ago | 106 comments

Ink Pen Records Handwriting and Creates Digital Copies (zdnet.com)
The Nuwa Pen utilizes three tiny cameras to capture what you write - on paper! - and save your notes in an accompanying app. I demoed the game-changing device at CES 2025.

Hardware, Technology, Writing, Productivity

10 points by marctuinier 40 days ago | 14 comments

Narcolepsy is weird but I didn't notice (fortressofdoors.com)
There are certain kinds of experiences that most human beings know very little about because a) they are rare, b) they can only be felt from the "inside", i.e., by the people who have them, and c) not all of those people choose to, or are good at, writing about it.

Narcolepsy, Personal Experiences, Writing

284 points by bfelbo 42 days ago | 106 comments

Keyboard for writers has word-count odometer, sprint timer (tomshardware.com)

Writing, Productivity, Hardware, Software, Peripherals

6 points by LorenDB 42 days ago | 1 comments

The latest fake literary agencies (writerbeware.blog)
Fake agencies mentioned in this post:

Writing, Scams, Publishing, Literary Agents

106 points by Tomte 45 days ago | 41 comments

Writing as Transformation (newyorker.com)
It seems to me that I have wanted to write for the whole of my life.

Writing, Transformation, Personal Growth

144 points by lermontov 47 days ago | 42 comments