>>> Item number 32486 from WRITERS LOG9406D --- (96 records) ----- <<< Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 18:35:03 JST Reply-To: WRITERS Sender: WRITERS From: Mike Barker Subject: TECH: Making the Most of Posting [carping at the flood of inanity? tis unlike thee to cast stones while fishing, but perhaps the pain of the hook will be dulled by the tasty weight of weaseling words? onward, then, and keep thy line taut, but pray avoid tautology lest none be taught...] small points (though none too short): 1. Consider your readers. (for those searching for the mystical magical secret of writing, there it is. have at it!) 2. Every message has a cost. Try to make sure your content or your style, preferably both, are worth (your readers) while and smile. (for the mathematically desperate - multiply the value of your content times the wit of your words, then add bonus points for editing, revision, and thoughtful pondering before posting. if the result is great, don't hesitate. if not so fine, wait against a reputation lost, a soul hurt, and other poisoned words of vile repute.) potentially pretentious slogans (for the sloganly...) Time and taste wait for good posting... I shall post no words before I've refined? If you can't write anything good, don't spread it around. (and other foolish sprayings of gelded words...:-) 3. Context lost is not paradise lost - but neither should one load the plate with fat and hope no one notices how small the shred of meat hiding therein. I.e., make sure your reader knows what you are talking about, but trim the extra weight of older words to what is needed... (five minutes of your editing means 400 people don't have to wade through those missing words - and displays your points most attractively! [and we all adore admiring points?]) 3. Short retorts must wait for your finest careful scribing, lest they be mere puffs of noise. Often enough, a bundle of thin reeds provides a better feast for toilers than those tossed one by one unheeded in the wind. 4. He who speaks least often is heard most clearly, and fewer postings let your readers ponder harder on the fine and wondrous writing that expresses deep and careful thinking. Besides, it leaves more time for drinking from the other wells of wisdom, wit, and wonder. Or just for beer, coffee, or ups and downs of your selection. (again, for the mathematically inept - the more you babble, the less the impact of each one. Consider making each posting a masterstroke of your writerly craft and art. You may post less, but think of the delight we'll all find in seeing your true abilities shining.) [enough! perhaps too much... let me recommend a reading of Strunk and White's little book, and then to read, for in those strange postings, there must be a dream or two about to awake...] for those of you who may not have your copy of the little book handy... 1. Place yourself in the background 2. Write in a way that comes naturally 3. Work from a suitable design 4. Write with nouns and verbs 5. Revise and rewrite 6. Do not overwrite 7. Do not overstate 8. Avoid the use of qualifiers 9. Do not affect a breezy manner 10. Use orthodox spelling 11. Do not explain too much 12. Do not construct awkward adverbs 13. Make sure the reader knows who is speaking 14. Avoid fancy words 15. Do not use dialect unless your ear is good 16. Be clear 17. Do not inject opinion 18. Use figures of speech sparingly 19. Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity 20. Avoid foreign languages 21. Prefer the standard to the offbeat guilty! guilty, and guilty again. but for my last request, may I have another fine goulash of galumphery and fiddlesticks from the WRITERS list? tink .... .... t ink lost it