Writing Without Distracting November 5, 2015
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Humor, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
Diversity of vocabulary and a playful turn of phrase add depth and flavor when they complement the prose without distracting from the missive.
That said, writers who douse paragraph after paragraph with lexicon that is not a natural part of their vocabulary remind me of cooks who over-season food rather than letting it speak for itself.
When a writer writes with thesaurus in hand to impress readers with a depth of vocabulary not possessed in common measure, I lose interest and turn my attention elsewhere.
Not that I’m missed.
Aah . . . that’s better!
But what does our distinguished panel of experts have to say?
John D. MacDonald: My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly.
Blaise Pascal: Anything that is written to please the author is worthless.
Marianne Moore: Any writer overwhelmingly honest about pleasing himself is almost sure to please others.
Samuel Johnson: Read over your compositions and, when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.
Alfred North Whitehead: A man really writes for an audience of about ten persons. Of course, if others like it, that is clear gain. But if those ten are satisfied, he is content.
Mickey Spillane: Those big shot writers . . . could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar.
Grace Metalious: I’m a lousy writer; a helluva lot of people have got lousy taste.
John Hall Wheelock: Most writers are in a state of gloom a good deal of the time; they need perpetual reassurance.
Georges Simenon: Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.
Peter De Vries: I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.
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