Gabfest: And Thereby Hangs A Tail

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Cimorene, Jan 9, 2017.

  1. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    My reflections on writing.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2017
  2. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Things that I wish someone had told me:


    He examined the door and then drawing back, he crashed his shoulder against it.
    The door creaked loudly and Bogle's second charge shattered the bolt and the door crashed open.


    You must be familiar with above scene enacted in countless movies. Our hero barges in to save the day. Nothing extraordinary or even note-worthy. But if you inspect the sentence, you will notice that the writer was able to capture the scene in so few words. This is a sentence from James Hadley Chase' Miss Shumway novel. When I read that sentence I was, I would never be able to write such crisp and animated sentences. It would take me atleast seven sentences to describe that scene with superfluous constructs in unwieldy verbal trappings. Because ...

    1. though "shattered the bolt" and "door crashed open" are simple constructs, they escape me because of the way I construe language in my mind. I am not very adept at retaining manifold semantics of a word. I will stick with only one definition of the world. "Shattered" means blow up and "crashed" means blow down.
    2. I am bad with prepositions and transitioning of parts of speech from acting noun to the active verb to the acted noun so forth.
    3. that looks simple but for me it is difficult because I don't know how to describe a motion in text.

    I realised this is the case with a lot of people whose native language isn't English. We use fillers and weak verbs in our fumbling attempt to convey information. The defect is that we don't invoke the most natural construct. How to develop the skill to frame sentences as naturally as possible? This inquiry was where my journey began ...

    Things that went wrong horribly:

    1. I reasoned I didn't know words as in I didn't know more words, so I started learning words. Not a bad move! However, knowing more words does not help you when don't pay attention whether that word is transitive or intransitive, requires an immediate object or not, used as a adjective or adverb or both, or the whereabouts of its associated inflections. (ignorant me!)
    2. I thought I had to write more ...the more I write, the more I will improve... improvement is proportional to the effort (what a myth!)
    3. I placed high importance on vocabulary and grammar and ignored style. In fact it is style that defines your language and also identified as a trademark (bit me hard!)

    Things I am fixing:

    (1) Merely knowing words is futile. You have to index them mentally and retrieve them reflexively. Knowing something is assuring but to compress your sentences, you have to pick the right form of the word. For example, rather than "I find your eccentric behaviour amusing", say, "I find your eccentricity amusing". Compress adj + noun as a pure noun. To write elegantly, think elegantly.

    (2) Writing more is ineffectual unless you track your progress and goals. Speed, comprehension, word count, every aspect of writing matters. Track your goals. If you don't, you are plateaued in competency and you never realise because you are deluded by the myth that effort is proportional to results. It isn't! Orientation is imperative.

    (3) Vocabulary and grammar on their own are impotent until you invigorate them in style. By style I mean the way a sentence flows. Not too emaciated or not too over-fed. Just the right flesh on the bone. This is achieved by practising neat styles of writing.


    Dedicated to everyone like me puzzled on seeing friends/colleagues write good English and strives to improve.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2017
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  3. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Nifty list, Ira. Thank you for compiling it. I am pretty sure 'nifty' is the word I am looking for.
    The second item above by itself will have saved me some futile labor! I did think that if I write more, I will improve. So, write more and improve are separate goals. Hmm.
    We could make this a casual yet useful exercise series in a thread. Transform sentences like the one above.

    How could one track goals such as comprehension? And speed, word count mean how long it takes to type a certain number of words?

    I have never been able to decide whether reading more or writing more helps in improving style.

    I wish there was a set of exercises to improve style. Most of what I have seen involves writing an entire story or article and that is reviewed.
     
  4. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    There is. It's called editing.
    (a) We mostly tend to read for content. Asking how style serves content or how certain effects are achieved is a good exercise.
    (b) Rewrite turgid prose. There is no shortage of grist for the mill.
     
  5. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    @justanothergirl

    Few weeks ago, I made a post. A post with a different stand point and a conflicting proposal on the lines why we would want to do it. I have a nasty habit of not gentrifying my speech. I take a lot of things for granted in my life starting with my interactions here or elsewhere. My etiquette dips and at certain places I come out too forceful on my blunt assertions. We are all work in progress at full-hilt. We never give up on ourselves. However for someone of my strong-headed personality, I have to remind myself to not pounce with my contrariety.

    In retrospection, I feel I should have toned better. I should have expressed myself with less thunder. I should not have flashed my cross-point which eclipsed my intact solidarity with your proposal, rather only added my argument as a footnote. I should have obliterated that tangential post when I wasn't able to conceive a well-mannered reply. I should have rectified when the edit window was closing upon me. I should have done something to temper my writing to convey in a balanced way that I endorsed your view in spite of reservations. Just wanted to apologize for my defiance.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2017
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  6. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    @Viswamitra,

    Hmm, same for you. I go "uh oh"..did I talk more ..did I open my mouth wider ... did I flash my teeth brighter. I noticed you have a softened tone in your writing. I rarely reciprocate your collected style of argumentation. I go .."but then this.." "why not this .." .."so what" and wind up the cause célèbre. Assertion is charming only when it is coupled with cordiality. I lean on one trait and miss the other. I take certain liberty with certain people to cut down on social niceties not due to lack of time but due to lack of motivation. Why all that genteel frou-frou in a discussion. I wish to inform that though I am forceful or evangelical, never meant to disrespect in any way. Er, just the way I enjoy ..jump to clinical assessment forgoing the mannered overture.
     
  7. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    @sokanasanah

    Hey, you, hammer man! Fire sale mein hammers kharida kya?
    Ek hammer se kaam nahi chalega?
     
  8. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Writing more is essential to build the skill initially but for progression you have to be mindful of your goals and constantly shift the goalposts. That is the only way to improve. Again, I am no expert, I am only reflecting on my failures. Write more but strive to write better in parallel. Let's say you pull up any of your posts from a year ago. You should be able to rephrase it better today. If you are still using the same syntax and diction, then you haven't really improved upon your language. They are separate goals yet can be pursued in tandem. If you keep cranking the same wheel you are like that hamster which thinks it is running forward but really not going anywhere. Define your goals - write faster, write grander, write crisper, and then accordingly evaluate your progress. Goal#1: writer faster. Time it and compare on a weekly basis on how long it takes to write a 200 words essay/post/article.

    Sadly, we cannot insulate ourselves to a sandboxed environment on public forums where we could critique or review writing though that is an effective way to prosper. Any online criticism is perceived as pedantic tic or affront. May be, one can do it privately with real friends who have superior language skills. Again, don't take this as your skills are not superior. I meant someone who has scholarship or stripes in linguistics, writes professionally for a blog, or comes across as someone who is well-acquainted with good language.

    I am someone who is sailing in the same boat. Remember that common tease, "a blind leading the blind". Here's another rhythmic Latin phrase for you: obscurum per obscurius ("the obscure by the more obscure"), or ignotum per ignotius ("the unknown by the more unknown") refers to an unhelpful explanation that is just as (or even more) confusing than that which it is attempting to explain.

    My response to your predicament is like that. What should you do? I will tell you once I figure out myself for I am equally confounded. Obscurum per obscurius!
     
  9. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    @Iravati

    I couldn't agree more. All flavors are only for taste and it is the meat that fills the stomach.

    Regarding the Simple Vs Elegant English, I went back to read SEC's directive and I noticed that they used the term "Plain English".

    Viswa
     
  10. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Regulators decree plain English to avoid ambiguity in their contracts. They don't want to be marred in any protracted legal hassles inflicted by sloppy writing. Eh, why should we exchange such payments? Hence plain and accessible writing is preferred by all initiating parties. Funny side on the up - did you read this recent war of the words in World Bank.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2017

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