Always on the hunt for Writing Tips? - The Oldies are the Goodies - Orwell’s Tips

Words are not cheap.

They are underrated and under appreciated by most. As a marketeer for one of Allforart’s clients, I have set the agenda on a specific topic and subject of immense import with three words - Celebrate, Educate, Activate. To date they have driven meetings, formed coalitions, caused workshops to be held, and formed up some strong international and domestic alliances.

I don’t, by the way, say this to do anything more than illustrate the power of a few words and that is germane to this particular post (I am however, proud of what those 3 words are accomplishing and I wish I could say more).

Words drive action. But not just any words, you have to pick the words that will do the work and get the job done, and how you do that is the work of making words work.

I was recently studying some writing techniques for this blog medium that is fairly new to me. I’ve only been blogging for about 8 months now and I’m learning a lot all the time thanks to so many who have made their knowledge freely available. I’m still sure I’m making every mistake there is to make, but that’s all to the good; the lessons of mistake are always the most valuable.

Orwellian Thinking - It’s not allowed!

I was recently talking to Branwen, whose first article (a good piece on backyard battling) has appeared on the Free Articulator, about George Orwell and the effect of his words. I was pointing out that Orwell used two words and a number to move the world: “Big Brother” and 1984.

Big Brother made everybody paranoid, suspicious and afraid of computers and (not without good reason) surveillance, has spawned a reality tv show, and become a solid part of our cultural lingo in the west. It is a symbol of oppression and invasive government practices that have plagued and dogged administrations who need to be, let’s face it, plagued and dogged!

I might wish that Orwell had used the term Shocking Sister instead, if just to get a rise out of a few thorny feminists. Men are too often perceived as the source of oppression, and it’s a burden to carry that around and feel anchored by something I’m not.

1984 anchored the world to a date and a prediction about a state of affairs that is sadly all too true today. 1984 will never be the same year again - in this year of high technology and every year hereafter that civilization continues to use high technology, 1984 will be shadowing the public memory of man.

But Orwell’s writing tips are something new to me and I’m grateful to John Wesley for pointing them out in his article George Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing. The entire article is worth your time.

Here’s my take on Orwell’s 5 Writing Tips.

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

I totally agree. If you read the Writing Tips available for download, you’ll see that I tackle the issue of utilizing cliché and encourage an imaginative mindset. Great writers will develop new clichés, not continue to overuse the old ones.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

I agree, but I reserve the right to employ a senior principle. Function determines structure and content, which leads you into defining the valuable final effect. This principle gets you to think about your audience, which then determines function and defines whether long or short words are appropriate.

I am also mindful that one of the purposes for reading is to learn new things, including words. The very idea that “the use of long words means one is pretentious” is one I may sometime debate, but preferably with a person of smaller stature than myself so that their small and short words do not pass over my head.

I don’t know of a better way to create ignorance or prevent knowledge-sharing than to say “the fruit in the bowl is rotten and will make you evil.”

Yet at the same time we have the words of someone like Mencken, who defined a demagogue as:

“One who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots”

And the philosopher Santanyana who said,

“There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor.”

To reconcile such ideas we must think for ourselves, and that means we must know what the words mean.

Censure language and put your freedom to learn, know and think in peril.

The language we use and do not use defines us; I don’t know about you, but I would be harder to define than most. (chuckle)

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

Excellent advice, most of the time. But again, it depends on the effect, and the audience you are communicating to, and the function the words have to perform.

If it ruins the aesthetic, the flow of the words and the rhythm and purpose of the piece, then “cutting a word out” is a mistake.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

Again, what is the context? Never is an extremely long time. Additionally, it denies an important reality: the passive form has its purpose, it is a limited purpose, but it does have a place. Know what that place is and when it is appropriate, and use it then.

Writing that is always active and never passive, does not give the mind an opportunity to pause, to find a quieter pace, before being plunged once more into the action of words that dance the two-step to a foxtrot.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Oh, dear. I’m screwed. Look, onomatopoeia is a word that exists for a reason. It’s useful. It describes a particular form and style of word that is unique, and therefore distinct. The word is useful because it means I can use one word instead of eight (or more). So long words can and do improve communication economy.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than saying anything outright barbarous.

Yes, that’s my point exactly. But a barrage of barbaric bluster when used in judicious fashion adds a bit of spice and shock value for the timorous and timid, who are always ready to jump in case lightning strike when they think a “naughty” (but completely bio-natural) thought.

In closing I would offer:

• Before you follow rules, think.
• Rules are for people who do not, refuse to, or cannot think with principles or concepts.
• Learning is a lifelong process that means discovering new things.
• Dumbing people down is easy to accomplish; simply forbid them to learn new words and how to use them. Even better, scare them into being thought of as no longer like everybody else, of losing touch with those who they love and are friends with - oh yeah. That’s anti-intellectualism at work, right there; condemns people to slavery. Disgusting stuff.
• The advantage of your ignorance lies with the fellow who is not.
• Balance, like judgment, is always important.

There are ways to use words that enable a reader to learn the meaning without having to visit a dictionary every two sentences.

Principles liberate, rules confine.

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Creative Tip: Vocabulary Building - One Word A Day

If you’re a songwriter, a poet, a storyteller, a journalist, or indeed anybody who works with words or wants to improve their literacy, there is no better way to consistently add to your intellectual toolkit than by subscribing to A.Word.A.Day.

This fantastic free educational service is one of the longest surviving email deliveries in the world. Every day it brings in a new word, with definitions and often a little history about word origins that fleshes out your understanding of context, which can be very useful for those engaged in historical novel writing, as but one example.

I’m committed to lifelong learning (well, who can avoid it?), and I find that learning just one new word every day, can help me:

• remove a creative block
• stimulate new ideas
• enrich my knowledge of our culture and civilization
• refresh my knowledge of meaning and definition (aiding memory)
• help me write and create the precise desirable effect I want to have with a reader

When I’m editing the work of others, having a veritable cornucopia of words, definitions and meanings in my intellect’s databank makes me an organic thesaurus, banishes the overuse of the same words in repetitive fashion and thus keeps my writing and that of those I edit lively and engaging, rather than repetitive, stultifying and boring.

If you’re not already a subscriber to A.Word.A.Day, but are working creatively with words, then get on over there and begin refreshing and expanding your existing vocabulary. You won’t regret it. Language competence is a highly sought after and extremely valuable skill and even if you’re not creatively inclined, knowing what words mean improves how you work and communicate. Words and their meaning enhance our ability to experience and enjoy life.

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As a writer and storyteller I want sure and certain knowledge that I can use and that adds to the toolkit I will employ as a writer. There is one particular article Holt wrote that totally settles the argument about plot, scene, or character. I searched high and low for viewpoints on that one for quite some time and I heard and read so many opinions and despaired of finding one that actually worked. In my opinion Holt got it right and settles that particular debate, except for a couple of things: Function and Point Zero.

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Tolkien captured it best when he wrote the immortal lines of “There and back again” for they capture beautifully and simply what is at the the heart of the reader experience when they fall in love with or become immersed in a story; the desire to go somewhere other than this world, and experience what it would be like to be someone else, live in any time, any place, and under conditions far removed from the real world in which we all live. Time travel? Read more

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This is a very valuable piece of writing craft that literally makes the difference between amateur and profesional writing in the field of fantasy. It has a focus on writing action scenes, and though this is a fantasy-focused article it has relevance to any storyteller who is faced with writing strong action scenes which need to engage the reader, and put them into the middle of the action.

Poul’s article contains great advice and I wholeheartedly recommend it.