This week: Kick the props away

In their book You Send Me, Patricia T. O'Connor and Stewart Kellerman note:

Some puffed-up writers use long words, techie talk, trendy terms, and convoluted sentences to cover up or deceive or sound important or go along with the crowd. Most people who inflate their writing, though, are simply insecure, often for no good reason. They don't feel their ideas are strong enough, and they prop them up with elaborate language.

They continue:

If your ideas are any good, they can stand on their own. So kick away those unnecessary props. All they do is turn a strong writer into a wuss.

Comments

[Randy]

So very true! It takes confidence in your writing to kick away those props - but it's essential. Thanks for the good thoughts.

[Mneiae]

It's true that some insecure writers cover up with what they think looks good. However, what happens when your natural internal dialogue is in flowery language?

[Kenneth W. Davis]

Great question, Mnelae--it's the first time I've ever been asked this, so all I can do is to make two suggestions:

1. Examine yourself closely to see if you really do "think" in flowery language.

2. Practice drafting in words that an 8-year-old (or some other age of a child you know well) could understand. I don't mean to "dumb down" the content--just use simpler vocabulary. When you hit a word that doesn't have a simpler synonym, don't worry; leave it as it is.

Thanks for the question! It made me think.

[Michael Soininen]

Agreed. I prefer to write as if speaking. Personally, it makes for easier reading as well.

However, is there a risk that this style of writing is viewed as amateurish due to the prose getting dumbed down?

[Kenneth W. Davis]

Thanks for the question. Actually, some research shows that simpler, clearer writing makes the writer look more intelligent, not less.