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David Downing wrote:
>
> <<your writing
> will be improved if you delete any phrases that you are especially
> fond of.>>
>
> Do you really need to take it quite this far?
>
My first response was: maybe not, but your top two or three
favorites are probably worth taking out.
My second response is: it depends on why you're fond of them. If
you're fond of a phrase because it sounds clever or impressive, then
you should definitely take it out. However, if you're fond of it
because it's clear, concise, and precise, then a stay of execution
may be in order. In other word, the question is whether the phrase
reinforces your self-image as a writer or is functional.
Anyway, I don't think the advice is meant to be taken completely
literally. I suspect that, no matter who first said it, he or she
was reacting to amateur self-indulgence and over-stated the case.
But, at any rate, I've seen enough of this type of self-indulgence
in tech-writing that it's still basically good advice.
--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"Dow Jones going into a stall,
Spray paint saying it on every wall,
The rise was fine, now it's time to decline and fall."
- Richard Thompson, "Yankee Go Home"
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