For the year or so that I've been moderating the Sunday writing group I've kept it pretty simple, and I'm not intending to complicate things now. I do however want to offer something of a theme for any who wish to participate. It will by no means be a requirement.
I'm a big proponent of what I call "flow". Whenever I consider reading a book, I flip it open to a random page - say 2/3 of the way in - and start reading in the middle of a sentence. It becomes clear to me in short order whether this book is easy to read, or whether it will be a struggle. If it "flows into my head with miminal effort" I may read it. If it reads like a math problem, I close it and walk away. If it is written in language not spoken by the vast majority of readers (and by this I mean it intends to send me scrambling for the dictionary at least once every page), I close it and walk away. If I hit upon a French phrase in italics that is unlikily to be in my dictionary . . .
There's certainly a need in the world for scientific papers. Textbooks and owner's manuals are necessary. Puzzles are useful for keeping the mind in shape. I do not, however consider stories or prose a good place for pithy text, and when I find it there I consider it a sign of poor skill in writing. It puts the reader on the defensive; "I didn't take the time to edit this draft and now the ball is in your court, so deal with it" - this is what that such writing says to me.
I like short time-tested words. I like it when someone gets to the point. Call me simple-minded if you will, but accessibility carrys a lot of weight with me. On the other hand, I don't want to discourage any sort of writing. So long as it is an attempt to say something in your own words, I will continue to accept just about anything.
So, in the spirit of getting to the point . . .
I don't reject anything from the group, but will rather leave some things in the queue in case the Monday or Tuesday author sees fit to accept it.
What I do not approve on Sundays:
No hate speech,
no email forwards,
no posts that consist mainly as an inticement to buy something or follow a link to some other site on the web,
no games (though if it is a writing game, I gladly approve the writing participants do as part of the group),
no lists of winners,
In short, anything that does not contain at least some original writing stays in the queue on Sundays.
"Chats" are not necessarily rured out, but they need to be a discussion started with a bit of writing, and not just two to six people typing and hitting enter over and over with the primary objective of earning points.
What I will feature:
This will be determined by opening posts and paging down to a random point and seeing if the writing "flows into my head with minimal effort". Featuring an article on Sunday does not mean it is telling a witty story, or that I agree with it, or even that I have read it all. It will simply mean - in my opinion - that someone can randomly select a section and think to themselves, "This is clearly written."
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Comments: 28
For me, if there is French in the text, I'm more likely to read it, even though I don't know French all that well. And I love difficult words, but you're right, using the dictionary for a word per page is too much.
Sometimes I'll read a book anyway, even if it sends me to the dictionary every other page. But I agree that the experience leaves something to be desired for the reader. I guess I do that for books that I feel I "ought" to read, but I really have to be powerfully incented (is that a word, or is that just one of those "corporate BS" words?) to read a book to slog through one like that.
Angela, incented is probably a word by now, but I share your distaste for corporate words because there aren't enough of them, and people tend to choose a corporate word that doesn't very well describe what it is they're trying to say. I also tend to get put to sleep when I hear about partnering and benchmarking over and over.
I already know enough French by virtue of being an English speaker. I did buy a "learn French" audio book recently, but only so I could open a book and start rattling off the French with perfect pronunciation (just for the fun of it).
Makes sense to me.
Have a great holiday weekend.
Blessings ~
Rene
I don't mind words or even quotes in another language if they are used in a way that tells you what they mean by it without having to spell it out....but what really irks me is when words in another language are used incorrectly.
You would be amazed (or maybe not) at how often a word or a phrase is used either incorrectly or completely out of context in published books. Since Spanish is my mother tongue, I take umbrage when I see a Spanish word used incorrectly or misspelled, when it wouldn't have taken much time to make the effort to find out how to spell it or how to use it... and not only by the author, but the editors who let it slide w/o challenge.....
Sonia, I have a sensibility of inclusiveness these days, and I think there are very few things that can't be expressed without minimum deviation from the 8,000 or so most-commonly used English words. If a technical term is called for, and other technicians might be reading, I much prefer a 4 or 5 word phrase that means the same thing.
What you're calling for here is simple, everyday language, the kind Hemingway believed writers should use. That's a good point, but it's a matter of taste, as the Hemingway-Faulkner "debate" showed (if the jabs they took at each other can be called a debate). For all of us , there's a certain amount of French (meant both literally and figuratively) that we're comfortable with, or even happy about. I'm happy with different styles in this respect and care more about "flow" the way I defined it, and of course what is being said. Among my favorites, you would find representatives of the "keep it simple and poignant" philosophy (Vonnegut, for example) as well as those who seem to take the "I know the word, and you should too" view (Rushdie). I think I care more about what they reveal about the world than the vocabulary they use.
Of course, if you want your writing accessible for a wider readership, one of those philosophies will serve you better than the other.
If you're using phrases from a less common language (say you've been to Latvia, and you remember some phrases or signs that you want to use), if you look, you will probably find on-line communities, mailing lists, etc. of Latvians who live in the US. In every such group there will be people who will be willing to look at a few phrases or answer a few questions about their country.
I hope you like it. It is just my view on your article. Though if you are moderating you may have already seen it.
Thank you, Chana. I particularly like Old English (which I used to more or less be able to read, though I've forgotten just about everything). It's a beautiful language, with lots of short words. Fortunately, a great many of those short words survived the Norman invasion, and continue to serve us well today.
Shows what I know.....
N*k*, you correctly observe I am not using the word "flow" as it is used my many writers. My sense of the word is, "does the writing flow into my head with little effort."
T.b., I've read some difficult things, but I can't say I really retained them. There is good writing that uses complicated language for sure, but often I knuckle down to try to understand someone only to discover their confusing writing is a cover for not knowing what they're talking about.
Yes, they have to be careful to not be specific, don't they, John?
Want to try this opportunity. I am happy that you are moderating this Essentials.
Thanks much for posting your guidelines.