"Those of the great writers are like wine and my writings are like water. 'Everybody drinks water.'" - Mark TwainPart of this is a lesson for me: Write simple. You don't have to go all 'elaborate' on me. People like simple. They read simple. Well-written sentence > big words.
Part of it is an encouragement: It's okay. You don't have to write like the greats. After all, Mark Twain didn't, knew it, and was okay with it. And now look - he's one of the greats!
And part of it makes me think Mark Twain was a sell-out. A sort of Justin Bieber, vampire-trend writer. Hey, if they'll buy it...!
So, what do you get out of this quote. Agree? Disagree? Meh?
TFD = Topic for Discussion
QOTD = Quote of the Day
2 comments:
I am ALL for the simple! Maybe because my personal grasp of vocabulary is kind of weak for a writer (I'm working on that!) but I stay away from enormous words if I can explain the same thing in easier terms. I don't tend to go for the super fluffy (Justin Bieber, vampire-trend) books; I do like somewhat of a challenge. But if big words make you a great, I'll settle for being a less-than-great. :)
Hi Melody! This is SO good. I've been reminded of this often over the years... for me, writing simple means sticking to what I know... God, family, friends, food... the basics. If I try to go deeper or get off track, I end up writing, well, crap.
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