Simple Writing Is Good Writing
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Simple Writing is Good Writing
What makes writing good? Writing is not just bunching a group of random words together — writing is actually an art. This art-form must be accepted by everyone to be considered a masterpiece – just like how one would see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, each one of its strokes having its own substantial meaning that no one can recreate. Writing helps people express their thoughts and ideas in ways that are not only fascinating, but enriching, too. Although, there is no concrete set of laws for writing, a theme recurs throughout many books and pieces intended to assist people in the writing process: On Writing by Stephen King, On Writing Well by William Zinsser and Politics and the English Language by George Orwell. Most people complicate their writing either show off or try to fill up the empty pages of their assignments, but those people probably dont know what theyre writing about. Its not the quantity that counts, but the quality. A penniless beggar with a lot of junk does not seem richer than the million with just one diamond. The key fact to good writing is to keep it short and simple.
One way to keep things short is to avoid clutter. Clutter is a jumble of unorganized words. Stephen King states, “..he just left out the boring parts. / You need to revise for length. Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%.” (King 224) He again states, ” Ill also want to delete stuff that goes in other directions.” (King 215) King tells his readers to rewrite and take out words that would later serve as clutter and confusion. William Zinsser also supports this claim by saying, “Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds / Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldnt be there.” (Zinsser 12) Zinsser compares clutter to weeds, showing how clutter in writing could be a nuisance, just like how one might think of weeds in their garden. Not only is clutter purposeless, but it also elicits confusion within the reader. This technique is reiterated in George Orwells essay, as he says,”If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.” (Orwell 9) Orwell again tells us to omit needless words. Ones intention of clarification would only evoke puzzlement. All three authors are trying to tell us that excessive wording does not make good writing – no matter how detailed or sophisticated it might sound. Clutter makes ones reader confused and uninterested.
Simplifying ones writing is not easy, but using easy words make ones writing simple. In writing, one should not get fancy with vocabulary. King supports this appeal by stating, ” One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because youre maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones.” (King 110) Stilted words convey alternate meanings rather than the one meant to be implied. Zinsser also backs up this proposal by saying, “Beware then, of the long word thats no better than the short word.” (Zinsser 15) Zinsser again points out that using a longer word such as, “assistance” rather than “help” might bring more clutter, than strength to the writing. Orwell further supports this notion by stating, “Never use a long word where a short one will do.” (Orwell 9) Why would one complicate the readers interpretation by using more complex words? Just like people, a word is still a word no matter what size or shape it comes in – longer doesnt necessarily mean better.
To achieve lucidness one must rewrite. Rewriting is an essential part of writing and should never be avoided, but instead be sought after. Without rewriting there is no 2nd draft that can be subtracted from the 1st . Thus, causing potential clutter that isnt eliminated. How can one pull out the weeds in their garden without carefully examining them? The same is with writing, if one doesnt examine, then re-examine again and again, how can he be so sure hes eliminated all the potential hassles? He can not. King states, ” Sit down with your door shut, a pencil in hand, and a legal pad by your side. Then read your manuscript over. / During that reading, the top part of my mind is concentrating on story and toolbox concerns: knocking out pronouns with unclear antecedents, adding clarifying phrases where they seem necessary, and of course, deleting all the adverbs I can bear to part with.”
King shows that the rewriting process takes out unnecessary clutter and adds more clarity to the work. Zinsser tells one to rewrite by saying, “Reexamine each sentence you put on paper. Is every word doing new work? Can any thought be expressed with more economy? Is anything pompous or pretentious or faddish? Are you hanging on to something useless just because you think its beautiful? / Simplify, simplify.” (Zinsser 16) Zinsser also writes about how crucial rewriting is, “I then said that rewriting is the essence of writing. I pointed out that professional writers rewrite their sentences over and over and then rewrite