Writing Archives - Complete, Concrete, Concise https://complete-concrete-concise.com/category/writing/ Practical Information Without The Bloat Sun, 12 Mar 2023 12:10:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 5 Minute Vim Tutorial https://complete-concrete-concise.com/blog/5-minute-vim-tutorial/ Wed, 26 Oct 2016 18:11:54 +0000 http://www.complete-concrete-concise.com/?p=3186 This tutorial won't turn you into a Vim wizard, but at least you will be able to open, navigate, edit, and save files using Vim.

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]]> Vim works differently from other editors you are used to, but it only takes about 5 minutes to learn the basics you need to edit with Vim. You won’t be a Vim wizard, but you will be able to:

  • Open a file
  • Move around in a file
  • Edit text in a file
  • Save a File

The slightly longer Extended 5 Minute Tutorial you will show you how to search in a file, get help, and access Vim’s own built-in tutorial.

Contents

  1. Vim in 5 Minutes (or less)
  2. The Extended 5+ Minute Tutorial
    1. Normal Mode
    2. Opening a File
    3. Saving a File
    4. Exiting Vim
    5. Navigating a File
    6. Inserting and Deleting Text
    7. Searching
    8. Getting Help
  3. Final Words

Vim in 5 Minutes (or less)

  • Vim operates in Modes. Vim always starts in Normal Mode.
  • Normal Mode is your base mode and you should always return to it.
  • All command / control keys are case sensitive.
  • If you are not in Normal Mode, you (usually) get back to Normal Mode by pressing the Escape key twice.
  • If you see recording in the lower left corner of the screen, press the q key to return to Normal Mode.
  • If you’ve messed stuff up, return to Normal Mode and type :q! followed by the Enter key to exit Vim without saving the file.
  • In Normal Mode you can navigate the file using the h, j, k, l keys (left, down, up, right). You might also be able to use the arrow keys on the keyboard1.
  • When you have navigated to where you want to edit the file (inserting or deleting text), press the i key to enter Insert Mode.
  • In Insert Mode you can only enter or delete text from the current cursor position – you cannot navigate. To navigate, press the Escape key to return to Normal Mode.
  • To save (write) the file, return to Normal Mode and type :w followed by the Enter key.
  • To exit (quit) Vim, return to Normal Mode and type :q followed by the Enter key.

The Extended 5 Minute Tutorial

This adds searching and help to the 5 Minute Tutorial, but, otherwise, keeps the information to the bare minimum so you can quickly be functional in Vim instead of frustrated.
All command / control keys are case sensitive: h is not the same as H!

Normal Mode

Normal Mode is the default mode and it should be the mode you always go back to.
Most times, you press the Escape key once or twice2 to return to Normal Mode.
If you see recording in the lower left corner of the screen, press the lowercase q key to return to Normal Mode.

Opening a File

The simplest way to open a file is to type vim at the command line followed by the name of the file:

user@COMPUTER:~$ vim file.txt

If it is a new file you should see something like this:


~
~
~
~
~
"file.txt" [New File]                       0,0-1          All

If it is an existing file, you should see something like this:

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Basic HTML5 Template</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  </head>
  <body>
    <!-- page content goes here -->
    <p>This is some dummy content that is not lorem ipsum.</p>
  </body>
</html>
~
~
~
"basic.html" 12L, 290C                      1,1           All

The status line3 (at the bottom of the screen) displays the following information:

  • file name
  • total number of lines in the file
  • total number of characters in the file
  • current line the cursor is on
  • current column the cursor is in
  • percentage showing the position in the file (if All : the entire file is visible, Bot : at the bottom (end) of the file, Top : at the top of the file)

In Normal Mode load a file by typing :edit followed by the filename and then pressing the Enter key.:

:edit basic.html

This discards the current file (if any) and loads the specified file.
If the file to be discarded has been modified, but not saved, you will see the following warning in the status line:

E37: No write since last change (add ! to override)

If you don’t care about saving the file, simply append ! to the :edit command:

:edit! basic.html

The ! tells Vim to “just do it!” and ignore any warnings.

Saving a File

You need to be in Normal Mode to save a file.
Save a file by typing :w followed by the Enter key.
If you want to save the file with a different name, type :w followed by the new file name and then press the Enter key:

:w new-filename.txt

Exiting Vim

You need to be in Normal Mode to exit Vim.
Type :q followed by the Enter key to exit Vim.
If Vim warns you that the file has been modified, you can choose to save it or you can force Vim to exit without saving the file by typing :q! followed by the Enter key. The ! tells Vim to “just do it” and exit without saving the file.

You need to be in Normal Mode to navigate a file.
The letters h, j, k, l navigate the cursor through the file. (You may also be able to use the arrow keys present on most keyboards.)
They act like arrow keys and are conceptually laid out like this:

h
←		 j
↓		 k
↑		 l
→

When you navigate left (h) to the beginning of a line, the cursor will stop. It will not wrap around and up to the previous line.
When you navigate right (l) to the end of a line, the cursor will stop. It will not wrap around and down to the next line.
If you type a positive integer (which will not be displayed), followed by one of the navigation keys, the cursor will move that many characters / lines.
For example, in Normal Mode, if you type 10j, the cursor will move down 10 lines.

Inserting and Deleting Text

In Insert Mode the only thing you can do is insert or delete text. (You may be able to use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate the text while in this mode, but there is no guarantee, navigating is supposed to be done in Normal Mode)
Enter Insert Mode by pressing the i, a, I, or A key.

  • i insert / delete before the cursor (what you would intuitively expect when entering or deleting text).
  • a append / delete after the current cursor position.
  • I insert / delete at the beginning of the line.
  • A append / delete at the end of the line.

You will (probably) be using i most frequently.
When you enter Insert Mode you will see – INSERT – displayed in the lower left corner:

The navigation keys are h, j, k, l.
h moves the̲ cursor one character left
l moves the cursor one character right
j moves the cursor one line down
k moves the cursor one line up
~
~
~
~
-- INSERT --                       3,11      All

Press the Escape key to return to Normal Mode.

Searching

You must be in Normal Mode to search.
In a large file, it is useful to locate items of interest by searching for them.
To search, type / followed by the text you want to find, followed by the Enter key.
Vim treats the search string as a regular expression – which means some characters have a special meaning. If you need to search for the following characters, you will need to type them as follows:

Name Character Need to Type
Period . .
Asterisk * \*
Backslash </td> \
Dollar Sign $ $
Forward Slash / /

Searches are case sensitive.
You can navigate between search results by pressing n (next) or N (previous).

Getting Help

You need to be in Normal Mode to use help.
To get help on something in Vim, simply type :help followed by the thing you want help on.
For example, to get help on the navigation key h, type :help h followed by the Enter key.
You should see something similar to the following:

h         or          *h*
<Left>    or          *<Left>*
CTRL-H    or          *CTRL-H* *<BS>*
<BS>      [count] characters to the left.  |exclusive| motion.
          Note: If you prefer <BS> to delete a character, use
          the mapping:
             :map CTRL-V<BS>    X
          (to enter "CTRL-V<BS>" type the CTRL-V key, followed
          by the <BS> key)
          See |:fixdel| if the <BS> key does not do what you
          want.
m̲o̲t̲i̲o̲n̲.̲t̲x̲t̲ ̲[̲H̲e̲l̲p̲]̲[̲R̲O̲]̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲1̲7̲2̲,̲1̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲1̲2̲%̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲
Vim will split the display into two panes. In the upper pane
you will see the help text. In the lower pane you will see your
current editing buffer.
Now you know that Vim supports multiple editing buffers - but
that is not the point of this tutorial.
~
~
~
~
a-file.txt                     4,5              All

The help can be pretty dense and not user friendly, but it may be helpful.
To close the help window, type :q followed by the Enter key.
If you type :help, it will bring up the general help file. You can navigate through it for topics of interest.
You might also try :help tutor for instructions on accessing the Vim tutor which is included with every Vim installation.

Final Words

Vim may not be the easiest or most intuitive editor you will come across. However, it (or its ancestor Vi) is quite ubiquitous and this tutorial gives you the basics you need so you are minimally functional with it.
The basics are simple:

  1. Vim operates in Modes.
  2. All command / control keys are case sensitive : k is not the same as K.
  3. The base mode is Normal Mode. You (usually) get back to it by pressing the Escape key once or twice.
  4. Navigating a file is done in Normal Mode using the h, j, k, l keys.
  5. When the cursor is where you want to insert or delete text, you press the i key to enter Insert Mode.
  6. Search in Normal Mode by typing / followed by the string you want to find and then the Enter key. Navigate the search results using the n and N keys.
  7. Save a file by typing :w in Normal Mode.
  8. Exit Vim by typing :q in Normal Mode.
  9. In Normal Mode you can get help by typing :help
  1. Vi (the precursor to Vim) was developed in 1976. Arrow keys were not commonly found on keyboards, so h, j, k, l were used.↩
  2. Some modes require one key press, others require two. If you press it too many times, the computer will just beep at you. Vim newbies often repeatedly press the Escape key in the hopes of returning to Normal Mode↩
  3. This is true for the default Status Line. It is always possible that someone has modified the Status Line to display different information, or in a different arrangement.↩

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]]> How to Write a To-Do List https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/how-to-write-a-to-do-list/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:09:44 +0000 http://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/how-to-write-a-to-do-list While this article is specifically for making a “writing to-do” list, the same techniques apply to any other type of to-do list. 1) Write it Down Write it down on a piece of paper and put it somewhere you can see it. If the list is in your head, it is not a to-do list […]

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While this article is specifically for making a “writing to-do” list, the same techniques apply to any other type of to-do list.

1) Write it Down

Write it down on a piece of paper and put it somewhere you can see it.

If the list is in your head, it is not a to-do list

I confess, this is my biggest problem. I tend to keep everything in my head and get less accomplished than when I actually write it down, can see it, and can check it off when I’m done.

2) Be Specific

Vague, nebulous, or open-ended things are not doable items.

Things like:

  1. Start writing book
  2. Write some articles for website
  3. Do research on castles

are vague, open-ended tasks that either waste your time or cause you to procrastinate and avoid your to-do list.

A better list would be:

  1. Write two pages of book
  2. Write article on removing wine stains from table clothes for website
  3. Check Wikipedia for info on 13th century castles in Spain

3) Make it Doable

We are often told to “stretch ourselves”, or “to get out of our comfort zone”. And these are good mantras, but … if you have never written a book, then having “Write book” on your to-do list is way beyond stretching yourself.

Even something like “write chapter” is probably too much of a stretch, but something like, “write 2 pages” is doable (or maybe even just one page).

Don’t put what you would like to do, put down what you can do.

Suppose you have a book report to write, break it down into tasks you can do not tasks you hope to do.

Completing items on your to-do list has a strong positive psychological effect – “Yeah, I wrote two pages!” – which is going to encourage you to completing more than if you are left with the feeling, “Ugh, I still gotta write that book report.”

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]]> Writing Quickly https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/writing-quickly/ https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/writing-quickly/#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:38:15 +0000 http://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/writing-quickly In a previous post, I discussed how writing is hard because we get frustrated that the process of writing is so much slower than our process of ideation. However, we often make the process even harder by writing at a slower pace than we are capable. As a writer, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by […]

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]]>

In a previous post, I discussed how writing is hard because we get frustrated that the process of writing is so much slower than our process of ideation. However, we often make the process even harder by writing at a slower pace than we are capable.

As a writer, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the blank page. We often focus on crafting the perfect first sentence, spending hours agonizing over every word and phrase. However, this approach can be counterproductive, as it places too much emphasis on the final product without considering the importance of the raw material: words.

In truth, the medium that a writer works with is not ideas or even pen and paper, but words themselves. Without words, a blank sheet of paper is just that: blank. To create something meaningful, we must first supply the words, filling the page with our thoughts, emotions, and ideas.

Of course, this is easier said than done. It’s tempting to get caught up in the minutiae of writing, focusing on perfecting every sentence and phrase before moving on to the next. However, this approach can quickly become overwhelming and hinder the creative process.

Instead, I recommend adopting a more fluid and organic approach to writing. Write quickly and without judgment, allowing your thoughts to flow freely onto the page. Don’t worry about repetition, inconsistencies, or uneven flow – just get the words out.

Once you’ve written for as long as you can, set your work aside for a day or two. When you return to it, you’ll likely find that it’s far from perfect. But that’s okay. You now have raw material to work with – words that you can shape, rearrange, and refine until they become something greater than the sum of their parts.

Remember, writing is a two-step process: first, you create the raw material; second, you revise and refine it. Don’t worry about crafting the perfect first draft – just get the words out. The process of revision will be much easier and more effective once you have a solid foundation to build on.

Image is used under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Original image is by izzyplante and can be found here.

The image has been modified from the original to: (1) extract the foreground person, (2) blur the paper and writing, (3) add copyright mark, and (4) resized.

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]]> https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/writing-quickly/feed/ 4 Why Writing is Hard https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/why-writing-is-hard/ Tue, 31 May 2011 02:27:49 +0000 http://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/why-writing-is-hard “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” ~Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith “Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” ~Gene Fowler Writing can be a source of frustration for anyone […]

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“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” ~Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” ~Gene Fowler

Writing can be a source of frustration for anyone who has ever tried it. The ideas that seemed so clear in our minds often come out all wrong on paper. But why is this so?

Writing is not Talking

Writing is not the same as talking. It is similar, but not the same. Writing is more precise; it omits word whispers (uhm, err, and awkward pauses), it omits filler words (like, you know, see, and other more colourful words people pepper their speech with).

You would never write (unless, maybe, you’re Shaggy):

Like, man, it was some dark and stormy night, you know.

Instead you would write:

It was a dark and stormy night.

Writing is not Thinking

We don’t think in words. There might be words, phrases that appear in our thoughts, but so do images and emotions and memories.

Writing is Slow

The main reason writing is so difficult is because it is slow. And this slowness makes writing frustrating. It makes getting your ideas on paper a struggle as your ideas race ahead of your written words.

We speak (in English) at a rate of 120 words per minute or faster. Audio books are read at a speed of around 150 words per minute. Newscasters speak at 200 words per minute or faster.

When composing we type around 19 words per minute or write by hand about 31 words per minute.

What you can say in a minute takes at least 6 minutes to type or 4 minutes to write out by hand (longer if you are a fast talker).

What we were able to say so effortlessly, has slowed to a crawl when we try to write it down. We get frustrated.

Even more disheartening, the average person reads around 250 words per minute, so that minute of speech, that 6 minutes of typing can be read in 30 seconds. Six minutes of work reviewed in a few seconds. Is it any wonder writing seems so difficult? Several minutes of work for a few seconds of consumption – it hardly seems fair.

I have no idea how fast we think (to the best of my knowledge no one has tried measuring that). Thinking consists of not just words, but images and emotions and memories which are all worth hundreds, if not thousands, of words.

When you think of Annabella emerging from the house onto the porch in her white dress, it comes with images of the porch, the house, the garden, the sky, the clouds, the trees, the birds singing, the breeze, the smells and, maybe, in your mind is the word “radiant” to describe her. All of that comes to you in a fraction of a second or maybe a few seconds.

To describe all that, to convey the sights and sounds and smells and emotions to the reader might take several hundred words. That image, which came in a flash of inspiration to you, now takes 30 minutes or longer to write down.

Consider another scene where you see the epic sword battle between Count Voltorb and Lord Raichu. You see the climax where Lord Raichu loses his sword and Count Voltorb is coming in for the kill, but in a daring move Lord Raichu dives, rolls, and grabs his sword with a fluid motion and kicks at Count Voltorb knocking him off balance. How long many words to share this battle scene with someone so they feel that they are there? A lot more than the 19 words you will type, or 31 you will write, in a minute.

Writing is hard because we are frustrated by how slow it is to put our ideas to paper.

Information on Words Per Minute was taken from the Wikipedia article of the same name on 31-May-2011 (the information may have changed since I referenced it).

Needless to say, individual results may vary – you may be a faster writer (or slower), you may be a faster talker (or slower), you may be a faster reader (or slower).

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]]> Are you a Writer? https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/are-you-a-writer/ Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:26:02 +0000 http://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/are-you-a-writer Many people talk about writing, dream about writing, fantasize about writing, wish they were writers. There is nothing wrong with all that – it shows great passion for writing, but … If you want to be a writer, then you must write. Imagine you want to be a gardener: talking about it is good, dreaming […]

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]]> Many people talk about writing, dream about writing, fantasize about writing, wish they were writers.

There is nothing wrong with all that – it shows great passion for writing, but …

If you want to be a writer, then you must write.

Imagine you want to be a gardener: talking about it is good, dreaming about it is good, so is buying packets of seeds, tools, going to gardening shows and workshops, but if you never put seed into soil, if you never try to grow something, then you aren’t a gardener. It doesn’t matter if you have a large plot of land or a window sill with barely enough room for a small flowerpot – to be a gardener you must plant and grow things.

Of course, when people think about being a writer, they think about being a published writer. Being published is a great achievement, but if you haven’t written anything then you can’t be published.

Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific writers, probably said it best:

I write for the same reason I breathe — because if I didn’t, I would die.

scriv

I don’t know the original source of this image, so I am unable to credit it. If you know the original source (not just someone else using it), let me know and I will gladly credit the original artist (or remove and replace it if it is in violation of copyright and I can’t secure the right to it)..

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]]> Proofreading Tricks and Tips https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/proofreading-tricks-and-tips/ https://complete-concrete-concise.com/writing/proofreading-tricks-and-tips/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:41:00 +0000 http://complete-concrete-concise.com/?p=9 The best way to proofread your work is to get someone else to do it. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. The following proofreading techniques are easy and help minimize errors in your documents. Use a spell checker and grammar checker, but DON’T trust them. Spell checkers catch obviously misspelled words (like byt instead of […]

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The best way to proofread your work is to get someone else to do it. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

The following proofreading techniques are easy and help minimize errors in your documents.

  1. Use a spell checker and grammar checker, but DON’T trust them. Spell checkers catch obviously misspelled words (like byt instead of but, but will miss bit if you meant but). Grammar checkers detect simple grammatical mistakes (like repeated words), but give a lot of spurious warnings.
  2. Look at the document differently. Change the font or go from single column to two columns. Changing the way the document appears makes it easier to notice errors.
  3. Print out the document. Reading hard copy is very different from reading on screen.
  4. Read it out loud. Preferably pointing at the words with a finger as you read. This is also a good way to ensure your content flows well.
  5. Put it aside and come back to it later. A break can help you see things in a fresh way.

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