(no subject)
In my Ecology and Evolution lab, every other week is devoted to a writing workshop. This... is kind of ridiculous, because no one gets their drafts done because no one has enough time to get anything done, let alone something that's not due for another week.
Anyway, I was reading the "Language: Being Precise" chapter, which starts with this quote by Arnold Bennett:
When a writer conceives an idea he conceives it in a form of words. That form of words constitutes his style, and it is absolutely governed by the idea. The idea can only exist in words, and it can only exist in one form of words. You cannot say exactly the same thing in two different ways. Slightly alter the expression, and you slightly alter the idea.
And even though I'm reading this in respect to scientific papers, this is the same philosophy I have for fictional stories. I really respect the writers who sit down and think about each and every word they use and whether, taken together, they imply the exact connotation desired.
I usually don't have the patience to do this myself! But it's one of the things I look for in good writing.
Anyway, I was reading the "Language: Being Precise" chapter, which starts with this quote by Arnold Bennett:
When a writer conceives an idea he conceives it in a form of words. That form of words constitutes his style, and it is absolutely governed by the idea. The idea can only exist in words, and it can only exist in one form of words. You cannot say exactly the same thing in two different ways. Slightly alter the expression, and you slightly alter the idea.
And even though I'm reading this in respect to scientific papers, this is the same philosophy I have for fictional stories. I really respect the writers who sit down and think about each and every word they use and whether, taken together, they imply the exact connotation desired.
I usually don't have the patience to do this myself! But it's one of the things I look for in good writing.