Friday, April 25, 2008

Lessons in Writing Humility

(OK… I was saving this post for tomorrow. But My Bud Dan’s comment to the post immediately below cut me to the quick. He’s right. I’ve been phoning it in of late. So here’s something that contains a lil bit more “substance.” Not a lot, mind you…just some.)

Apropos of not much…but, by way of introduction, this: I’m often struck by the quality of writing I encounter in my wanderings around these here inter-tubes. Or, more better, the absolute dismal state of most of the writing I encounter. Present company excepted, of course. All y’all write well, for the most part. There are exceptions…and all I can offer is: “if the shoe fits…” But in most cases it won’t fit. Mainly coz I have little or no tolerance for poor writing, there being some exceptions. I’ll leave it at that… criticizing others is not what we’re on about in this post.

The Second Mrs. Pennington and I, the both of us being professional writers (of a sort) and more to the point… she being an English teacher (of a sort)… used to have this on-going argument discussion as to whether good writing can be taught, or not. My position has changed back and forth over the years and still isn’t firmed up to this very day. On the one hand, the mechanics of writing most certainly can be taught… which is to say grammar, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and the like. Anyone with half a brain can go out and buy a copy of Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style,” study it intently, absorb all the lessons therein, and call himself a writer. And a lot of people do just that. On the Other Hand… good grammar and punctuation doesn’t begin to make what we know as “good” writing. It’s a start, but only a start.

Once upon a time I considered myself a “good” writer. I’d taken several undergrad courses in English and composition, I had a fairly extensive writing background acquired as an additional-duty Public Affairs Officer (NCO, actually, but the title was “PAO”), and was recognized by various and sundry Air Force supervisors and such as a “go-to” guy when it came to putting words on paper. So, it came to pass (in my post-USAF career) I was assigned to a proposal writing team sometime in 1986 or thereabouts. And here for your illumination, Gentle Reader, is my very first effort in this space, as returned “for corrections” by my proposal editor:

(click for larger, if you have the inclination)

Bloody. Literally dripping with blood, in the form of the dread red editor’s pen, and this is but four of 14 pages, all similarly deeply scarred and dripping red. Including all 14 pages in this post would be overkill, not to mention boring beyond belief. My draft was returned with a post-it attached that said “Good Work!” (the post-it has gone missing after all these years). I scanned my draft, bloody as it was, and immediately went to my proposal manager/editor and said words to the effect of “You think this is Good?”… to which she replied “Yeah. I didn’t tell you to re-write it, did I?” Well, OK, then.

So... I returned to my desk, made the corrections and re-submitted my draft, which was accepted without further edits. Things got progressively better for me (and my editor) as time went on. At the end of the six-month pursuit cycle I came out a much better writer than when I went in. My first proposal was a learning experience of the first order.

I became very, very close to my editor… a woman by the name of Mary who later went on to become an EDS corporate VP, and I had the delightful opportunity to work with her on a couple of other proposals while she was still doing that particular gig. I learned nearly everything I know about writing today from that woman… lessons that are much too detailed to repeat here but had a lot… nay, everything… to do with word-choice, economy of language, what to leave in your writing, and… much more importantly… what to take out. Another thing Mary emphasized is one needs to recognize good writing before one can even begin to emulate it. In other words: good writers are voracious readers. Mary was also of the opinion that the best writers read a wide variety of “stuff…” fiction, non-fiction, op-eds, soup cans, cereal boxes, and (she emphasized) poetry. Mary maintained poets are all about economy of language, which, to her way of thinking, is the very essence of communication.

Mary was a wise woman indeed. My only regret is I failed to keep in touch with her. So... take what you will from this, and leave the rest. Such as it is.

17 comments:

  1. I am surprised you read my blog I am not a good writer. It is something I am working on but not have I have achieved.

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  2. Uncle Buck: Man does THAT bring back some memories! All the writing and comp classes in college and all that blood! and in the end..."this was very intuitive...good effort!" ...What? but?...oh well, thanks!

    Honestly...you can grade my stuff anytime! Constructive criticism is great! I do try to be concise, but as you well know...there are times...

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  3. I'm with you Ash. I used to write poetry and short stories in High School. I think it is a case of use it or lose it, and I lost it.

    I agree that good writers read a lot, also good spellers read a lot. Haven't convinced my children of that. I also agree that the mechanics can be taught, but that is not what makes a "good writer". Correct english does not make something a good read.

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  4. Jeez, all this fuss over a light copy-edit. :-)

    "The strongest drive is not for money, power, or even sex. It is one person's need to change another person's copy."

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  5. Well you can all tell by one of my last posts I never even finished high school, and I can truly say I don't have any memories of "comp classes or blood. As far as writing... :)
    Granny and Grandpa don't care how I write :) Buck, I would love to be taught, you may have just made yourself an online tutor, Ha!

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  6. I will not pretend to be a good writer and would hate to see what a piece of my work would look like with that editor. LOL! Thank goodness for Microsoft Word, eh? I need all the help I can get.

    But, even as sorry of a writer I think I, the kids of today absolutely have the biggest problems writing. It scares me. Thankfully I have kids that love to write stories and I think they will be ok. But I have had to judge essays before in the high school and it's bad. Real bad.

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  7. An well crafted article is as much a work of art as an elegant vase or sumptuous painting - they all require something of the artist's muse whispering at the creator's shoulder...as well as a measure of discipline.
    - SJS

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  8. Ashley sez: I am surprised you read my blog I am not a good writer. It is something I am working on but not have I have achieved.

    Ashley. Dude(ette). You're 20 years old. You're writing nearly every day. You're working on it. AND you communicate, you express yourself, and you do what you do well. The rest will come, with practice, attention to detail, and time. I like your blog. :-)

    Jay sez: Honestly...you can grade my stuff anytime! Constructive criticism is great! I do try to be concise, but as you well know...there are times...

    I appreciate the sentiment, Jay, but I'm not trying to set myself up as some sort of Critic, Junior Grade. Or editor, coach, cheerleader (well, maybe a lil bit in THAT space), or what-have-you.

    And your point is well-taken about all that blood. I wonder if this is still true in schools today, what with all this "deferred success," everyone's a winner!, and other assorted feel-good crap.

    Diva sez: I'm with you Ash.

    ...

    Haven't convinced my children of that. I also agree that the mechanics can be taught, but that is not what makes a "good writer".


    See above, Diva. I think you still have it, FWIW. And good on ya for keeping after the kids!

    Barry sez: Jeez, all this fuss over a light copy-edit. :-)

    LOL! That brings us right back to Earth! Great quote, too.

    (Barry is in the proposal biz, in case you didn't know, GR.)

    Dawn sez: Buck, I would love to be taught, you may have just made yourself an online tutor, Ha!

    Aiiieee! (Just kidding. I'm always willing to help, as long as it's me who gets to define "help.") ;-)

    Jenny sez: But, even as sorry of a writer I think I, the kids of today absolutely have the biggest problems writing. It scares me. Thankfully I have kids that love to write stories and I think they will be ok. But I have had to judge essays before in the high school and it's bad. Real bad.

    I had to live with business "writing" by erstwhile college graduates... and how they managed to get a frickin' degree (based on their inability to write) is beyond me. Engineers were the WORST. So, Jenny can you answer the question I posed to Jay?

    SJS sez: An well crafted article is as much a work of art as an elegant vase or sumptuous painting - they all require something of the artist's muse whispering at the creator's shoulder...as well as a measure of discipline.

    Great point, and one I didn't address. You can't say something if you don't have anything to say... and I think the Muse drives that. The Muse concept has always fascinated me. Especially the way she comes and goes...

    All: I said "Once upon a time I considered myself a “good” writer." I think I'm adequate today, but not much more than that. Cruising these here inter-tubes has enlightened me a lot... on BOTH ends of the quality spectrum.

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  9. Thank you Buck!

    I thought you read my blog because I am cute! ;o)

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  10. I know the mechanics of writing. I just wish sometimes that writing must SJS was talking about would whisper to me. I love to read, but I think my artistic expression may have to find other outlets that writing.

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  11. Ugh, followed closely by a visit from the typing muse!

    That should have read "that writing muse"

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  12. Really? "Deferred Success" Well, why not? It worked for Dexter Manley!

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  13. Ashley sez: I thought you read my blog because I am cute! ;o)

    That's just a bonus, Ash. ( A quite nice bonus, too!)

    Becky sez: I know the mechanics of writing. I just wish sometimes that writing muse SJS was talking about would whisper to me.

    Ah... you and me both, Becky. Sometimes she surprises me and shows up. Most of the time she's elsewhere...

    Jay sez: Really? "Deferred Success" Well, why not? It worked for Dexter Manley!

    That's a hella story, Jay. Thanks for that. Manley was failed by SO many people one just has to ask the question "How did THAT happen?" I'll leave out the criticism of OSU... ;-)

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  14. Becky:

    You'd be surprised how much the muse is already talking to you. ( and IIRC from my *ahem* public school education...;) that would be Calliope - the chief of the muses and the muse of epic or heroic poetry)

    Each of us has a certain time of the day that our conscious provides the seeds for creative work. For me, early riser that I am, it is in the pre-dawn hours when all is still quiet and the day's chaos lies in coiled wait. When I was on active duty and deployed it was my favorite time of the day to fly or step out on the bridge of the ship and quietly contemplate. The fact that it also coincided with a final chance to shoot the stars for a navigational fix before sunrise always added a nice metaphorical allegory to that time of day.

    Others prefer the late night hours as the embers of the day slowly fade - revealing new thoughts, new ideas in their receding glow.

    Find one that works best for you, tune back the ambient noise and you will be astonished at the whispered jewels that appear.

    - SJS

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  15. I'll tell you a secret (right here on the innernets, of course). The more compliments I get about my writing, the less comfortable I am with it.

    I've recently been promoted from "non-custodial" single-dad to "custodial" and this means less time for blogging in general, starting with proofreading. Nobody's complained yet, but my confidence is slipping quickly. I'm particularly uncomfortable with analogies, metaphors, and the like. Seems like the thoughts are suddenly more complicated than any vocabulary or parable tools I have available to carry them across that great divide to where the reader awaits. I frequently get the impression I'm choosing between a very poor and barely-functional tool for getting the job done, and none at all.

    The irony is that I'm bothered the most when somebody LIKES it. Especially when they link to it...especially when they excerpt from it. It makes me think, if I'd known this is the part that would get the attention, I would have allocated my meager proofreading/self-editing minutes a little differently. It's very much like (awkward metaphor coming up) a carpenter finishing the outside of a dresser, but not the backs of the drawers, and being suddenly shocked to see this is the one furniture item getting all the attention. And nobody understands what he thinks is wrong with it. But he cringes everytime they look at it.

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  16. mkfreeberg said...Seems like the thoughts are suddenly more complicated than any vocabulary or parable tools I have available to carry them across that great divide to where the reader awaits. I frequently get the impression I'm choosing between a very poor and barely-functional tool for getting the job done, and none at all...

    Many times I don't even attempt to express what I feel in writing because of this very thing! Thanks for sharing that :)

    It's very much like (awkward metaphor coming up) a carpenter finishing the outside of a dresser, but not the backs of the drawers, and being suddenly shocked to see this is the one furniture item getting all the attention. And nobody understands what he thinks is wrong with it. But he cringes everytime they look at it.

    I love the real honesty here and if I'm understanding this right, I believe I feel this way often! Trying to connect with a persons writing can be interesting, because it's like you need be able to see what exact picture they are trying to paint with their words. Sometimes a person may focus on only one part of your picture instead of seeing the whole thing!Sometimes even taking the part they focus on out of context with the rest of the picture. hmmm, that is a amazingly frustrating thing to me. ( and I'm not really sure if I'm expressing myself to clearly here :)

    I also really liked steeljaw
    scribe's comment to Becky! Well put.

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  17. Very well put on "the muse," SJS. I was always an early riser as well, back in the day when I was gainfully employed... and feel I did my BEST work at that time. The ol' brain was simply less cluttered with the mundane and trivial... probably had a lot to do with the "fresh start" syndrome as much as anything.

    Morgan: Interesting, that!! (The bits about linking, quoting, etc.) I have trouble with analogies, metaphors, similes, and all that stuff, as well... mainly in the terminology department. The downfall of being a "self-taught" writer, methinks. That said: I think you do pretty danged good with your metaphors and analogies, the carpenter one being very appropriate.

    Dawn sez: Trying to connect with a persons writing can be interesting, because it's like you need be able to see what exact picture they are trying to paint with their words. Sometimes a person may focus on only one part of your picture instead of seeing the whole thing!Sometimes even taking the part they focus on out of context with the rest of the picture. hmmm, that is a amazingly frustrating thing to me. ( and I'm not really sure if I'm expressing myself to clearly here :)

    You expressed yourself perfectly, Dawn, to my mind's eye, anyway. It's always VERY difficult to communicate in writing, simply because you can't raise an eyebrow, wink, or laugh using text. Which is why I tend to use smileys a lot in comments... but not in my posts... because they ease "understanding."

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.