For me, personally
Image courtesy of Álvaro Serrano
Hold on a second. Don’t they mean the same thing?
“For me” = “personally”, last time I checked.
Im starting to live in fear of extraneous words. They are catching my attention like a box of sparkly jewellery at a magpie convention. Why do we need them? “If you need help or assistance, call this number”. What if I can’t choose which I need?! Now I’m in trouble.
Why does this happen? One avenue is technical. It’s just plain good writing to cut as much fat off your words as possible. Anyone who has digested Strunk and Whites Elements of Style will understand the intricacies and efficiencies of the well-written word. And that also probably then understand just how hard well-written words can be to forge. Frank Budgen, friend of James Joyce (the notorious wordsmith and author of Ulysses), once had the following conversation with Joyce:
I enquired about Ulysses. Was it progressing?
“I have been working hard on it all day," said Joyce.
"Does that mean that you have written a great deal?" I said.
"Two sentences," said Joyce.
I looked sideways but Joyce was not smiling. I thought of Flaubert.
"You have been seeking the motjuste?" I said.
"No," said Joyce. "I have the words already. What I am seeking is the perfect order of words in the sentence. There is an order in every way appropriate. I think I have it."
“The perfect order of words in a sentence”. The perfect arrangement of sentences in a paragraph. The perfect arrangement of paragraphs in a text. If we take care of the small things, the big things will take care of themselves. Seems a cliche, but cliches hang around for a reason.
Another avenue worth exploring is not the technical intricacies of good writing. Thats too easy. Thats rules, nothing more. This other avenue is about the creator of those words. By applying both the belt and the braces of extraneous words to your writing, you are over-compensating for something. You’ve left me wondering, why the fuss? I believe it’s because it makes it easier to hide, fearful of rebuke or attack on your opinions and ideas. Maybe the ideas are weak, and open for attack, or maybe they are strong and your intention is weak. Fear is a powerful motivator, powerful enough to make us spend more time than is necessary covering our tracks. What would it look like if we decided to say what we had to say, plain and simple, unabashed, and free?
It turns out that vulnerability isn’t just in the words you say, it’s in the way you say them.
