matt higgins

If you read enough of the writers that are considered to be the greats, you’ll quickly realize that the rules, as far as grammar goes, are made to be broken. Writers such as Hemingway and Twain took certain liberties, but they also knew good writing was no accident. Below are some quotes from well-known authors speaking about what they considered to be the rules of good writing.

VERY SAD
“Very” is a word that is often used, but adds nothing to the meaning of the message. “Very sad” is more sad than “sad,” but everybody’s baseline is different. If the question is how sad you are, “very sad” isn’t any closer to providing an answer. My friend Ben Roy, formerly a newspaper reporter and currently a teacher, strictly forbid the use of the word. He was so adamant I was convinced it was a mistake worth avoiding.

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”–Mark Twain

“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”–John Keating

SHOW, DON’T TELL
William Doreski, a poet and college professor from my alma mater, Keene State College, gets credit for teaching me this lesson. This isn’t a device only for fiction and poetry. This approach makes for more engaging writing, regardless of the form.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”–Anton Chekhov

“You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying in the road.”–Richard Price

BIG WORDS DON’T IMPRESS
The need to use big words doesn’t demonstrate intelligence, it reveals insecurity. If the point of the writing is to communicate, using a word that shows off your mental muscle (or ability to use a thesaurus) only increases the chance your message won’t be clear.

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”–Jack Kerouac

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.”
― Stephen King

BONUS QUOTE!
“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald