Book Notes: Several Short Sentences About Writing

There is lots of wisdom in this book about improving our writing (and thinking). But for me, the free verse or sing-song style made it difficult to focus for long. Here’s an example:

“Here, in short, is what I want to tell you.

Know what each sentence says,

What it doesn’t say,

And what it implies.

Of these, the hardest is knowing what each sentence actually says.”

This style continues for 149 pages!

I did find some pearls of wisdom buried inside

  • To be a better writer you must be a better reader
  • Implication is the ability to suggest more than the words seem to allow (songwriting and poetry are especially good at this)
  • A short sentence makes it It’s easier to say what you are saying
  • “Many people assume that there’s an inherent conflict between creativity and a critical, analytic awareness of the medium that you work in”–but there’s not–you need both, but at different times
  • “In the pursuit of clarity, style reveals itself”. “Your clarity will differ from anyone else’s without your intending to make it differ”
  • A prewriting outline (like what we learned in school) stifles creativity. “Can you think of all of the good thoughts in advance?”

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