Let’s get write to the point on writing
A new guide to good prose says writing is a confidence trick, writes Rose Wild.
Here you are, with fingers poised over keyboard. You want to communicate something, but your mind is blank. It might be that you’re just the chap for that job you’ve seen advertised or perhaps your friend’s mother has died and you want to say you’re sorry; or your washing machine is on the blink and you would like the managing director of Dodgy Whitegoods Ltd to know how you feel.
Writing, says Sam Leith, is a confidence trick. He thinks that the key to an effective literary style is confidence and that confidence is a trick that can be learnt. By picking apart the building blocks of language you can acquire the knowledge to reassemble them with clarity.
Of course, getting into a lather about grammar is the great British displacement activity. The world is going to the dogs so let’s get angry about someone ending a sentence with a preposition. Leith, the literary editor of The Spectator, explains the rules with charm and wit, but the value of this book lies more in his analysis of composition.
Aristotle distilled the art of communication down to three basic tools: ethos, the bond you create with your audience; pathos, the emotional connection; and logos, the force of your argument. If you can crack those three you’re on the way to getting people on your side.
Next, you have to think about how you structure your story. The journalist’s trick is exposition, argument, recap - or, in English, tell them what you’re going to say, say it, then tell them what you’ve said.
There are many perils and pitfalls. Some words or phrases will always make hackles rise. Old faithfuls such as ‘‘Between you and I’’, or confusing disinterest with indifference may not be the worst crimes, but if they are going to disconcert your readers they are best avoided.
So what about that job application or condolence letter? When applying for a job, he says, keep your letter and CV short. Find out the right person to write to. Proofread your application. Assume it will be skimmed at high speed, so put your most recent achievements at the top.
The section on the condolence letter is useful. Write quickly and if possible by hand. Don’t be theatrical or make open-ended offers of help that need a response. Don’t go on about how upset you are. This isn’t about you.
There’s a lot to reflect on, but I’m not convinced that Leith’s advice can remove the terrors of the empty page. I doubt that knowing the names of all the forms of nouns is going to help. I wish he had cut to the chase, with less detail about what language consists of and more on how to use it. –