Date Posted:15:29:39 09/05/01 Wed Author: mark van dyk Subject: Re: The Art of Writing In reply to:
Adilbrand
's message, "Re: The Art of Writing" on 15:19:38 09/05/01 Wed
Certainly it takes more skill to evoke a mental image of a white chicken than to simply say that the chicken is white.- Adilbrand
I think here is the crux of the argument. Evoking mental images. My first sentence evokes the image of white chicken. The second example evokes snow, round about language that adds nothing, then finally meanders back to the chicken. In both instances the white chicken was evoked, but in the second instance a lot of clutter language was also used. This is the real difference. The need for the words snow and pristine and unblemished was unnecessary for the purpose of evoking our infamous white chicken. :)
And as for your comment about writing like we speak, I agree. I was only saying that the modern voice is different than days gone by, and the modern ear is also, as a result. On the other hand, perhaps good writers are also better speakers? :) If you follow my train of thought. Perhaps we should only encourage people to write who can speak without being vague!
