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If you want an actual guide for how to write well, rather than just six rules, get a copy of Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Old editions are still good. T
by klodolph 4y ago
If you want an actual guide for how to write well, rather than just six rules, get a copy of Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Old editions are still good. This book goes in depth, and covers a lot more than the six rules Orwell gave. It includes examples of how real writing samples can be improved. Highly recommended book. Much better than that Strunk & White book.
- bookofjoe 4y ago$49.99 — TO RENT! https://www.amazon.com/Style-Lessons-Clarity-Grace-RENTAL-dp-0135171830/dp/0135171830/ref=dp_ob_image_bk https://www.amazon.com/Style-Lessons-Clarity-Grace-RENTAL-dp...
- klodolph 4y agoGrab an older version. That’s the 13th edition. Used copies of older editions can be had for closer to $10.
- bookofjoe 4y agoIndeed. $6.99 here: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/style-ten-lessons-in-clarity-and-grace_gregory-g-colomb_joseph-m-williams/250856/item/3963251/?gclid=CjwKCAiArY2fBhB9EiwAWqHK6pBjlxRsBEMvVpuaKAt8KYYQl0s-3MY9_Oaabequc0OCEhbgqU77mRoCmw4QAvD_BwE#idiq=3963251&edition=2352397 https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/style-ten-lessons-in-clarity-a...
- ognyankulev 4y agoOr you can read it for free from Internet Archive: https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Williams%2C+Joseph+M%22 https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Williams%2C+Jo...
- Veen 4y agoI will second the Style recommendation. It explains how to write elegant sentences, whereas Strunk and White is just a list of the writers' prejudices. I'd also recommend Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte (who was Edward Tufte's mother).
- scubbo 4y agoThanks for the recommendation! I took precisely two useful things from Strunk & White ("avoid structuring a sentence so that two associated words or concepts are far apart - re-order so that they are close together" and "where possible, replace negations with standalone terms - 'short' instead of 'not tall'"), the rest was disappointing. The section on email made it clear how out-of-touch they were!
- klodolph 4y agoStyle has the same advice about structuring sentences so that associated words are close, and it comes with exercises and examples of how to achieve this in practice.
- staplung 4y agoAmusingly, the Orwell piece itself mentions a particularly stupid sub-species of the "not X"; namely, the "not un-X" (e.g. "not untall" instead of just "tall"). In a footnote he says: "One can cure oneself of the not un- formation by memorizing this sentence: A not unblack dog was chasing a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field."