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Excerpt
Words
The French mime Etienne Decroux used to remind his students, "One pearl is
better than a whole necklace of potatoes." What is true for that wordless art
form applies equally to writing: well crafted prose depends on the writer's
ability to discriminate between pearls and potatoes. Only some words are fit to
be strung into sentences.
Great writers are meticulous with their pearls, sifting through piles of words
and stringing only perfect specimens upon the thread of syntax. The careful
execution of beautiful, powerful prose through beautiful, powerful words is
guided by these principles:
Relish every word. True prose stylists carry on an impassioned, lifelong
love affair with words, banishing bad words like so many banal suitors,
burnishing the good ones till they shimmer. Be infatuated, be seduce ...
read full excerpt from Sin and Syntax ebook
