Find Seductive Potholes
“Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others
should care about. It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language,
which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.
“I
am not urging you to write a novel, by the way — although I would not be sorry
if you wrote one, provided you genuinely cared about something. A petition to
the mayor about a pothole in front of your house or a love letter to the girl
next door will do.”
—Kurt Vonnegut
(1922-2007), writer, “How to Write with Style,” 1985 NYTimes obit Image: Jill Krementz
• Editorial Comment: A petition to the girl next door? Or love letters to potholes.
TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM is a free “service” sent to the 1,800 or so misguided subscribers around the planet. If you have recovered from whatever led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em. But all contain at least a kernel of insight. Don’t shoot the messenger.)
Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD
“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
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