Mount Zion Ryan

One thing. I meant to publish the first one Friday…

1. A fellow wordsmith and lover of good writing recently gave me a copy of The Elements of Style Illustrated. It is great. I’ve been dipping in from time to time to draw a rule or tip like cool water from a well.

   My all time favorite is:
   

   17: Omit needless words.

   The rule itself is an example of the rule. If that ain’t poetry…

   Here is another:
   

   6. Do not overwrite.
   Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest , generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating. If the sickly-sweet word, the overblown phrase are your natural expression, as is sometimes the case, you will have to compensate for it by a show of vigor, and by writing something as meritorious as the Son of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

   When writing with a computer, you must guard against wordiness.
   The click and flow of a word processor can be seductive, and you may find yourself adding a few unnecessary words or even a whole passage jus to experience the pleasure of running your fingers over the keyboard and watching your words appear on the screen. It is always a good idea to reread your writing later and ruthlessly delete the excess.

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