The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
Steven Pinkeramazon.com
The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
Savoring good prose is not just a more effective way to develop a writerly ear than obeying a set of commandments; it’s a more inviting one. Much advice on style is stern and censorious.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
when the land turned to dust, not “the Dust Bowl”; when there was nothing to eat, not “the Potato Famine”; the landless, not “the peasants.” Wilkerson will not allow us to snooze through a recitation of familiar verbiage.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
Fresh wording and concrete images force us to keep updating the virtual reality display in our minds.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists g
... See moreSteven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
show a draft to yourself, ideally after enough time has passed that the text is no longer familiar.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
Perfecting the craft is a lifelong calling, and mistakes are part of the game.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
The guiding metaphor of classic style is seeing the world. The writer can see something that the reader has not yet noticed, and he orients the reader’s gaze so that she can see it for herself.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
They write as if they have something important to show. And that, we shall see, is a key ingredient in the sense of style.
Steven Pinker • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
In summary: show, not tell
the guiding metaphor of classic style: a writer, in conversation with a reader, directs the reader’s gaze to something in the world.