Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-08-08
OLD ADVICE FOR NEW WRITERS.

Take tor your motto: "WhOever
can think and speak well can also
write we'll"
Make crisp, concise sentences.
"SimpIicity il the first charm Of
good STYLE" In rewriting cut out
all the 'fine" or "fiowery" passages.
Use short, everyday words, If
they will clearly express your mean
ing. Do not say "She attempted
to attract the attention Of an assem-
bly, OF juveniles by the recital of
small collection of anecdotes" when
you mean that "She tried to amuse
the children by telling them stOries.'
Be careful of the arrangement of
your sentences and the words in
them, and thus avoid ridiculous,
and often serious, mistakes. Do
not say, for instance, "Wanted, an
experienced nurse to take care of a
child thirty or forty years of age"
Cultivate the habit Of writing as
you would talk. Call red "red,"
not "ruby )" speak of "the green
fields" not "tbe emerald fields"
Avoid tautolOgy. Do not write
"The traveller, tired and weary with
his journey, lay down to rest.'
Avoid redundancy. Do not say
"Another old veteran has depart
ed"
Avoid the unnecessary use OF
connectives. Only a bad writer
would say: 81 went to see her and
spend the afternoon, and stay to
tea and spend the evening, and
have her go home with me and
stay all night"
In regard to subjects, write of
something with which you are ia
miliar, or with which you can be-
come familiar by careful study. For
instance, you may tell OF your sue
cess with pansies, or read up the
subject "Sponges," to make an
interesting account for children. 1t
is said; ga mans best things lie
nearest him." You are apt to
imagine that nothing less than a
trip to the Pacific coast will furnish
suitable material for a good article.
The four.leaf clover grows az your
doorstep, Make the most of your
small opportunities while you are
on the lookout for larger openings.
After selections, plunge at once
into your subject; be sure you
strike keynote at the outset to
which you may return at the close,
and thus secure a complete, har-
monious whole.
Be interested in your topic if you
expect to interest others. Become
thoroughly saturated with your
subject before putting pen to pa
per. Fully half of the work may
be done IN the mind before produc'
ing visible results. With the sub
iect held iD mind, even desultOry
reading will disclose similar ideas
that would otherwise be unnoted.
Throughout your article show a
reserve strength indicating that
you could say more if you would.
A study of good literature will
show how this can be done.
An earnest writer anxious to sue
ceed cannot afford to read trashy
literature, even for recreatlon.-
Spend all surplus moments III the
study OF noted authors, and not
alone to cultivate style. The society
of cultivated people will also proye
beneficial.
To enlarge your vocabulary, look
up the definition of every unfamiliar
word you may chance upon in your
reading.
Avoid exuberance in writing. Re
member to be natural.
Have an object in your essay.
Give the reader fun, or Information,
or help in some way especially
something that is alive.
Do not attempt too much in one
article. Never appear 10 pIeacu'
Be practical, even commonplace
Thore is very little demand for ab-
stract or flowery literature.
Finally, be brief. COndense, cus
out every superfuous word or SEN
tence.-Mona Fargher Purdy in
The Writer.
nausp of TOrnadOes.