Sticking with my theme, Collected Wisps of Thought, today’s thoughts are about writing. Specifically, one of the most valuable lessons I ever learned about technique.<\/p>\n
It was my semester “abroad” in college when I was first introduced to the phrase “omit needless words”. I’d planned to go overseas, but instead I’d chosen a program called the Oregon Extension. Their catch phrase was “Read a few books, chop a little wood”. It was a program for thirty students and six professors who lived and worked together up in the mountains near Ashland. The nearest grocery store was forty-five minutes down a windy, breathtaking\u00a0road. We lived in cabins and heated with wood stoves, recycled everything, and\u00a0conducted our lessons in the professors’ living rooms, sitting around in small groups eating apple pie. On Fridays there was a work day where\u00a0we fed the chickens, gardened, stacked or chopped wood, and washed the two old rickety vans we used for the once-a-week grocery run. Work day was just as important as academics.\u00a0\u00a0That’s the kind of program this was.<\/p>\n
More than anything though, we read books. A lot of books. It wasn’t uncommon to have a book assigned one day and discussed the next with reading time assigned all afternoon and into the night. We read philosophy and literature,\u00a0plus books like Rivethead, The River Why,\u00a0and There are No Children Here which captured unique slices of American life.<\/p>\n
And after we were done reading we wrote. Lots of papers. The papers were to capture our thoughts about the literature, and as long as we were thinking — really engaging the texts — there wasn’t much judgement of our opinions. But there was judgement of our writing style\u00a0and more than anything, what I remember seeing scribbled on blackboards and written on top of my papers, was the phrase “Omit needless words”. It was the second catch phrase of the Oregon Extension, and it has never left me.<\/p>\n
Over the years, I’ve repeated this mantra\u00a0over and over, and it never ceases to amaze me how applicable it is every time. I developed a life-long\u00a0habit during my time at the OE.\u00a0I read everything again and again, and each time, I omit as many needless words as\u00a0I can.<\/p>\n
Try it some time. You’ll be surprised at the way meaning, buried deep within your prose suddenly becomes crytsal clear, unearthed for the world to see. You’ll be chagrined to see your own ego whittled away. All those words that were really\u00a0about strutting your writing stuff disappearing one by one. You’ll be amazed to learn\u00a0how many words simply didn’t need to be there. You’ll find discipline in the task of looking at every word, weighing its importance.<\/p>\n
If I had to winnow down my career’s worth of writing and publishing knowledge to one select phrase, this would be it. Omit needless words. Say what’s important and omit\u00a0all else. Never use two words where one will do. Don’t indulge. This isn’t about brevity, mind you. It’s not about making your books or poems or papers short. It’s about making them sing. Do you see the difference? Practice and you will.<\/p>\n
If I could give all aspiring writers\u00a0one gift to take with them through the new year it would be this mantra:<\/p>\n
Omit. Needless. Words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sticking with my theme, Collected Wisps of Thought, today’s thoughts are about writing. Specifically, one of the most valuable lessons I ever learned about technique. It was my semester “abroad” in college when I was first introduced to the phrase … Continue reading