Another Quick Note on Writing
On this, the birthday of Ernest Hemingway, it’s a good time to remember a piece of repartee between him and his contemporary, William Faulkner on the subject of writing:
Faulkner, speaking of Hemingway: ‘He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.’
And Hemingway’s response: ‘Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?’
Needless to say, I support Hemingway here. I try to use the right word, whether it’s one everyone learned as children, or one that’s far less common but really fits the task at hand. Like us all, I’m constantly striving to improve.
Any art requires some understanding. Typically just when you begin to feel that you have a handle on the subject you turn a corner and realize that your 80% understanding leaves a long field ahead of you.
There are so many aspects to the technique of writing but as a form of expression it is also closely tied to the thinking process and your state of being: who you are.
Vocabulary should not be haphazard. It needs to be tailored to the expected audience. But do you have respect for that audience? Many newspapers are written at a 5th grade level of reading, but I sometimes wonder if it is the writers skill or limitation that keeps it at this level.
The same could be said of using a special vernacular like legalese, scientific writing or using lots of calculations. They can be very appropriate for the right audience or completely lose a general audience.
For general writing there is a balance that can be struck. If you find that you are constantly “dumbing down” your writing either your audiences are children or you could be subconsciously taking the position that no one can possibly understand what you have to say. “Dumbing down” your writing can also be striving for popularity over sincerity, integrity or responsibility.
For me, writing is also often an introspective process of trying to determine how I understand a subject. If we are striving for popularity the view is outward and not inward. We become what we see rather than who we are. It is a bit like lying. I have heard the admonishment that if we are constantly lying to others we begin to lie to ourselves and then knowing who we are becomes much more difficult.
Certainly you can set your own goals but I wonder if we are constantly setting an artificially low standard that is what we become.