A decision was made….
January 15th, 2010
Writing
A decision was made to go to the woods because of a desire for a deliberate existence and for exposure to only the essential facts of life, and for possible instruction in its educational elements, and because of a concern that at the time of my death the absence of a meaningful prior experience would be apprehended.
Hilarious! What he was butchering was :
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of nature, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
And other good tips found here
- The words derived from Latin are the enemy—they will strangle and suffocate everything you write. The Anglo-Saxon words will set you free.
Clarity. If it’s not clear you might as well not write it. You might as well stay in bed.- Simplicity. Simple is good.Writing is not something you have to embroider with fancy stitches to make yourself look smart.
- Brevity. Short is always better than long. Short sentences are better than long sentences. Short words are better than long words.
- Humanity. Be yourself. Never try in your writing to be someone you’re not. Your product, finally, is you. Don’t lose that person by putting on airs, trying to sound superior.
- You can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: What does the reader need to know next?”…One thought per sentence…There’s no sentence too short to be acceptable.
