Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace

5 Responses to “Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace”

1. Vanessa A. Nemara says:

   August 4, 2010 at 12:42 am

   Clarily in style and grace is anything but clear. It is hard to follow and know. It is not for anyone who needs help with grammar and punctuation. It disagrees with the rules that you used in elementary school and brings up that there are disagreements with additional leaders in the world of academia. Unless you have to use this for a class as a mandatory book, pass by this one.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
2. Kim D. says:

   August 4, 2010 at 2:23 am

   Before I attempted to read this book I was opposed to book banning, but, I’m rethinking that now. This book is like a parody of a book on clarity. His attempts to communicate contain vast amounts of wasted words and confusing passages and once you finally figure out the concept then the quotes used to illustrate them take forever to wade through. No one writes this kind of gobbledygook. Waste of time and money. Fantastic torture contrivance though.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
3. Jeanne Helt says:

   August 4, 2010 at 3:37 am

   It all comes down to what our purpose is when we write. Are we entertainers? Teachers? Guides? Writing is first and foremost the use of words on a page to engage a reader so that the reader may experience something he or she would not otherwise experience.
   Engage is the vital word here. The reader must become engaged, for if not, there is no hope of her fully accompanying the characters on their journey. This journey is how I judge readers come to a new understanding of universal motivations, paradoxes, concepts. The journey, by the way, does not have an end, even though the book ends. The journey’s end, so to speak, is simply the beginning of the reader’s journey. This is why books are so lovely. They go on forever.
   If engagement is the key, then these ten concepts are crucial. There must be no ambiguity in writing, unless it is purposeful ambiguity. To me, “write clearly” means just that. Write with purpose. Write concretely, because we will give the reader just what we intend if we’re point. No chance of misunderstanding. Write actively, because it is more engaging than the passive tense.
   We reflect in a straightforward way. John jumped over the creek. Not, over the creek John jumped. The theme naturally comes first in our minds, and the reader will have fewer pieces to rearrange if we write that way. This holds right for keeping the verb in the main clause of the sentence. It helps the reader process in a logical forwards way. Speechifying needs thoughtful processing, and is best left to the ends of sentences, when the reader can peruse them more leisurely, having already digested the active part of the sentence.
   Editing is nice; we can rearrange things all we like. But cutting is another tale. It hurts, but it is the most valuable part of the writing process, because it allows the writer to place out anything that is not ultimately crucial to the overall meaning of the tale. Anything extra is not only extra, and a waste of the reader’s time, no matter how perfectly written, but it is also a distraction from the clear and continuous meaning we, as writers, are trying to make. As a new “re-writer”, I have a WordPerfect file just to hold all the lovely bits I take out of my pieces. I can’t reasonably part with them (yet), but I can set them aside to make my meaning clearer.
   Structure helps our readers the way signposts help the hiker. It is perhaps an unnatural addition to the landscape of our writing, but a useful one to help our reader stay on track.
   Writers have enormous power. We can take another human being on any journey we choose (assuming they choose to read the tale). It is up to us, as the ones with the power, to be absolutely certain that we are right to the essence of the tale, to the forces moving our characters, to the interactions between characters, their dialogue, their actions, their inactions. This does not mean we must measure our truth-telling against an objective arm. Yet we must measure it against itself. The tale must be right unto itself.
   The process of creation is incredibly powerful. Yet it is just that: creation. In fiction-writing, we must engage the reader in a reality that is simply fake. It is contrived. That’s the scenery of fiction. In nonfiction, or creative nonfiction, we have the added responsibility to remain right to the facts, or to signpost areas where we stray from the truth. Writing ethically means to be fully aware of where you are taking the reader, and to be reliable for that journey. And all of this means that the creation is just the first step in the process; we really ought to call ourselves rewrite artists.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
4. Anonymous says:

   August 4, 2010 at 3:52 am

   This tome is scintillating to read. Every paragraph speaks volumes on-point. This book remains open on its own. The paper and type quality bring no-anxiety reading, and this book just unadorned feels excellent to hold.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
5. Anonymous says:

   August 4, 2010 at 5:32 am

   This book provides vital information delievered in an impersonal and lifeless manner. As a writer, I am wary to heed Williams’s advice. Do I want to write prose as dull as his? I reflect not. Frankly, I reflect that if university students (such as myself) weren’t required to read this book for class, Mr. Williams wouldn’t make too much money.

   I marvel if Mr. Williams thought of taking his own advice when writing this book. To read “Style” I have to sit in absolute silence and puzzle over each sentence I come across. When I see pages full of brackets, I quiver. Should a reading experience be so unpleaseant? Why are you writing a book on writing, Mr. Williams, when you are a poor writer yourself?

   If you want to read a book that can really help you to become a better writer, pick up On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Practical, concise and personable, Mr. Zinsser writes in a way that Mr. Williams should wish to. I warn you against losing multiple hours of your life that you can never get back by reading this “guide”.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5