Writing well

I take guilty pleasure in reading guides to good writing. I am not sure why I find such literature so appealing (useful it is, certainly, but enthralling it has no right to be), but articles like this make me feel warm and communicative inside.

It is no doubt possible to be too concrete, too illustrative or anecdotal, but few inexperienced writers err this way. For most the soundest advice is to be seeking always for the picture, to be always turning general remarks into seeable examples. Don't say, "Sororities teach girls the social graces." Say, "Sorority life teaches a girl how to carry on a conversation while pouring tea, without sloshing the tea into the saucer." Don't say, "I like certain kinds of popular music very much." Say, "Whenever I hear Gerber Sprinklittle play 'Mississippi Man' on the trombone, my socks creep up my ankles."

| Posted by Wilson at 23:59 Central | TrackBack
| Report submitted to the Humanities Desk