5 Rules of Effective Writing, by George Orwell
March 22 by Craig Childs 669 Shares | Uncategorized
Literary legend, George Orwell wrote an essay in 1946 called Politics and the English Language as something of a cure for the state of writing in publications of the day. PickTheBrain.com brings to light 5 rules from said essay that will bring out your writing from the pack.
- 1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- 2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- 3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
- 4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- 6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Both articles are an excellent read. PickYourBrain go into extra detail how the rules work and why you should consider them. Orwell’s essay goes into, obviously, more detail with some other ideas to consider also.
George Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing – [PickYourBrain]
Politics and the English Language – [Orwell.ru]
Number three for the rest of us:
Never use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice.
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[...] 5 Rules of Effective Writing, by George Orwell – lifehack.org Literary legend, George Orwell wrote an essay in 1946 called Politics and the English Language as something of a cure for the state of writing in publications of the day. PickTheBrain.com brings to light 5 rules from said essay that will bring out your wr (tags: howto reference tutorial writing) [...]
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[...] Thanks to my Bloglines subscription to Lifehack, I came across some very interesting posts, related to writing, and more broadly, productivity. The first one is actual writing advice from George Orwell. They are excellent tips, and naturally being the hack I am, I’ve broken all those rules. Idiot me. [...]
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As a writer, you just have to know the basic rules in writing–do’s and dont’s of writing. Aside from that, everything is on the hand of the writer.
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Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Never asked for the 6th one. LOL. Best way to write. Write something that no one understands. Something no one could ever understand. Let the Satire be the writing.
Usefull Rules