How do you write a white-paper anyway?

Seriously, most of the info I’ve found is full of pedantry and snarky sarcasm. I just want to know how a white-paper should be written. What info should I include? What format should it be? Should I include the ramblings of a mad-man word vomiting loosely coherent info about the thought process? Do I explain the block-chain, and/or cryptography? Do I explain why transactions need to be signed? Do I explain the properties of private/public keys? Where do I go to find this info without the advice of including an onslaught of buzz-words? How do I find this info without reading hundreds of white-papers?