Asking
Asking well, because a question costs a day
How to put a question so that one answer finishes it, and what makes an answer need a second crossing.
three things · six nights
Three questions, six nights, and two of them avoidable.
Why a Question Costs a Day
Across a gap, a question and its answer cost the same night whatever their size — which makes the form of the question the only thing anybody controls.
Putting a Question So One Answer Finishes It
A question that can be answered in one pass names the thing, states what is already known, and says what the asker will do with the answer.
The Missing Noun
Pronouns are unambiguous to the person who writes them and empty to somebody reading fifteen hours later with no memory of the day.
Asking Somebody Who Can Actually Answer
Across a gap, sending a question to somebody who has to forward it costs a full extra night, so the obvious recipient and the right one are not the same.
The Answer That Already Exists Somewhere
A large share of the questions crossing a gap have been answered before. The cost is not the asking; it is that the answer gets rebuilt differently.
Questions With Two Defensible Answers
Some questions have an answer and some have a choice. Sending a choice across a gap in the form of a question reliably costs two or three nights.
Asking Where Other People Can See the Answer
A question asked privately costs one night. The same question asked in the open costs one night and is answered for everybody who will ask it next month.
The Question That Is Not Worth a Night
A question costs a night. Some things are not worth a night, and asking them anyway is as much a failure as guessing about something important.