texture,
short
in stature,
pretty
in appearance,
assembled
in a group,
sturdy
in construction , or
given away
for nothing.
Another kind of prop is the unnecessary adjective or adverb (these are words describing things or actions). Reconsider such expressions as piercing
scream,
sudden
start,
advance
reservations,
future
plans,
forward
progress,
initial
beginning,
and that old upward
surge.
And try to avoid
demanding
insistently,
screeching
loudly,
seeing
visually,
experiencing
personally,
concealing
secretively, and
filing
singly onto a bus. There's more about this problem in chapter 11.
Pay attention. Prop words sneak into your writing when your mind is elsewhere. I've used them myself, but that's past history.
17. Critique of Poor Reason
THE ART OF MAKING SENSE
Your first duty to the reader is to make sense. Everything elseâeloquence, beautiful images, catchy phrases, melodic and rhythmic languageâcomes later, if at all. I'm all for artistry, but it's better to write something homely and clear than something lovely and unintelligible.
Of course, no one sets out to write nonsense. We do it because we're careless with words. We know what we mean, naturally, but others can't read our minds. Words are all a reader has. What makes perfect sense to us might seem illogical, incoherent, insensitive, or silly to someone else.
Say you're recommending a new kind of software to your boss. Don't say it's
incomparable
, then go on to compare it to Microsoft's version. Don't call two things
virtually identical,
then list their many differences. Too often we write on automatic pilot, not giving enough thought to the meaning of our words.
Thoughtless writing might even be unintentionally cruel. A talented city official who happens to be a double amputee might be offended if you called him the mayor's
right-hand man.
Then again, he might not. In some circumstances, ordinary expressions can be hurtful or inappropriate. A casual phrase that's acceptable in conversation (saying that a blind person has failed to
see
a point, for example, or that a deaf person didn't
listen
) might look insensitive on the page. If in doubt, take it out.
Fools Rush In
The best way to avoid using a word or phrase foolishly is to think about all of its possible meanings. Take the word
penniless.
We all know what it means:
poor
. But what if Bill Cosby takes a handful of change out of his pocket and discovers he doesn't have any pennies? To call him
penniless
would be accurate, strictly speaking. But it would be a dumb thing to write unless you were trying to be funny.
Everyone who writes has common sense to some degree. But we don't all use it as often as we should. We become careless about what we've written, never imagining it might look silly to readers. If you don't want them to snicker, don't write sentences like these:
Milton found that he was lost.
Françoise struck a candid pose.
Olga bent over backward to please her gymnastics coach.
Martha says tortilla chips are handy in a crunch.
There was a stony silence at the granite quarry.
The search for Santa Fe's first street turned up an alley.
A ton of cocaine is nothing to sneeze at.
You might say those examples fill a much-needed gap.
The Overactive Imagination
An imaginative flourish here or there can make dry writing come to life. But ill-considered imagery can create the wrong pictureâor too many pictures. Put yourself in the reader's place and think about the images you've created. They might be unintentionally ditsy, as in these examples:
Mrs. Proudie left no stone unturned in her search for a son-in-law.
Maybe her daughter goes for worms.
As Jethro ate squid for the first time, his heart was in his throat.
Heimlich maneuver, anyone?
Some writers think two images are twice as nice, but they're only half right. Two is a crowd, especially if they're within spitting distance of each other, as they are here:
Tonya's ace in the hole took the wind out of
short
in stature,
pretty
in appearance,
assembled
in a group,
sturdy
in construction , or
given away
for nothing.
Another kind of prop is the unnecessary adjective or adverb (these are words describing things or actions). Reconsider such expressions as piercing
scream,
sudden
start,
advance
reservations,
future
plans,
forward
progress,
initial
beginning,
and that old upward
surge.
And try to avoid
demanding
insistently,
screeching
loudly,
seeing
visually,
experiencing
personally,
concealing
secretively, and
filing
singly onto a bus. There's more about this problem in chapter 11.
Pay attention. Prop words sneak into your writing when your mind is elsewhere. I've used them myself, but that's past history.
17. Critique of Poor Reason
THE ART OF MAKING SENSE
Your first duty to the reader is to make sense. Everything elseâeloquence, beautiful images, catchy phrases, melodic and rhythmic languageâcomes later, if at all. I'm all for artistry, but it's better to write something homely and clear than something lovely and unintelligible.
Of course, no one sets out to write nonsense. We do it because we're careless with words. We know what we mean, naturally, but others can't read our minds. Words are all a reader has. What makes perfect sense to us might seem illogical, incoherent, insensitive, or silly to someone else.
Say you're recommending a new kind of software to your boss. Don't say it's
incomparable
, then go on to compare it to Microsoft's version. Don't call two things
virtually identical,
then list their many differences. Too often we write on automatic pilot, not giving enough thought to the meaning of our words.
Thoughtless writing might even be unintentionally cruel. A talented city official who happens to be a double amputee might be offended if you called him the mayor's
right-hand man.
Then again, he might not. In some circumstances, ordinary expressions can be hurtful or inappropriate. A casual phrase that's acceptable in conversation (saying that a blind person has failed to
see
a point, for example, or that a deaf person didn't
listen
) might look insensitive on the page. If in doubt, take it out.
Fools Rush In
The best way to avoid using a word or phrase foolishly is to think about all of its possible meanings. Take the word
penniless.
We all know what it means:
poor
. But what if Bill Cosby takes a handful of change out of his pocket and discovers he doesn't have any pennies? To call him
penniless
would be accurate, strictly speaking. But it would be a dumb thing to write unless you were trying to be funny.
Everyone who writes has common sense to some degree. But we don't all use it as often as we should. We become careless about what we've written, never imagining it might look silly to readers. If you don't want them to snicker, don't write sentences like these:
Milton found that he was lost.
Françoise struck a candid pose.
Olga bent over backward to please her gymnastics coach.
Martha says tortilla chips are handy in a crunch.
There was a stony silence at the granite quarry.
The search for Santa Fe's first street turned up an alley.
A ton of cocaine is nothing to sneeze at.
You might say those examples fill a much-needed gap.
The Overactive Imagination
An imaginative flourish here or there can make dry writing come to life. But ill-considered imagery can create the wrong pictureâor too many pictures. Put yourself in the reader's place and think about the images you've created. They might be unintentionally ditsy, as in these examples:
Mrs. Proudie left no stone unturned in her search for a son-in-law.
Maybe her daughter goes for worms.
As Jethro ate squid for the first time, his heart was in his throat.
Heimlich maneuver, anyone?
Some writers think two images are twice as nice, but they're only half right. Two is a crowd, especially if they're within spitting distance of each other, as they are here:
Tonya's ace in the hole took the wind out of
Similar Books
