Expository Writing 101

[Steve]

Do not post in this forum before reading this in Outdoor America, March, 1924, pg. 38:

[kyreels]

Well, it is online https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... rch%201924
page 386 of this compendium.
"Henceforth, we will be brothers, oh silvery creature!" may not fly well in the Reel News, not sure.

[Kevin McJunkin]

As an aspiring outdoor writer, I found this hilarious! The author's tongue is firmly planted in his cheek. "Never yield to the inclination to use only one word, when your meaning can be expressed almost as well with two or half a dozen."

[Shellbelly]

I got a kick out of that as well! I spent over 30 years untangling contract disputes. Language efficiency was rare. So much easier to just talk.

[kyreels]

Language efficiency is not my forte, as Steve can attest. I do have to check myself sometimes. If you are enthusiastic about something, you tend to elaborate. Perhaps the Hemmingway style of minimalistic dialog is best, but there is room for all.

[Steve]

If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.
- attributed to Cicero

It was Pascal who did the attributing, and, being French, he wrote a much longer version of the quote:
"Je n’ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n’ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte." Alas for the French.

Anyway, it was my 8th-grade English teacher who introduced us to the thought.

[Shellbelly]

Very true. Language is an art that's practiced every day. The written word is a challenge and a shrewd taskmaster. I can't count how many instances when someone said, "Thats not what I meant!", when talking about something they wrote. Then they spoke plainly and cleared up the misunderstanding. The difficulty in conveyance with words alone causes us to elaborate. If we feel that our point isn't clear, we write some more. On the other hand, Hemingway left us to our own thoughts as did Hitchcock. Room for all.

[Midway Tommy D]

If anyone has confusion over any of my written dialogue, I don't know what their problem is. I know exactly what I meant.

[Shellbelly]

Amen to that, Sir!!

[arley]

Without spellcheck and autocomplete I would be unintelligible.

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks for providing the link Matt. Wonderful old magazine. I’ve always loved those. The illustrations -the ink washes in particular- are just beautiful. In college I used to spend considerable time going through such old outdoor magazines and books. This one was preserved at Cornell University, my alma mater. Probably stashed away in Mann or Uris library. Wish I’d found them while I was there.

As to outdoor writing, I’ve done a fair amount, on fly fishing and traditional archery. I found it unrewarding, in terms of pay and a few heavy handed editors that simply sucked the fun out of writing.