European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 04, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Polishing prose so that it s Clear and Bright James j. Kilpatrick the writer s Arta t Bottom two elements make up the writing Art. One is to have something Tor say. The other is to say it clearly. Clarity comes first. Whether one is writing a Sermon a Book review a novel or a letter to the editor clarity always comes first. But clarity is not the Only distinguishing virtue of Good writing. There is More to the Craft. At times May want not Only to write clearly but also to write forcefully or rhythmically or amusingly. There Are tricks to accelerating a narrative or slowing it Down. Good writers know How to use their tools such tools As allusion alliteration and cadence. Suppose a writer s aim is to write vividly. The adverb is rooted in the latin word for borrow ing from Webster s tenth collegiate we want to produce a Strong or Clear impression on the senses we want to produce distinct mental we want a scene to come do we pull this off one trick is to use the precise word instead of its generic Parent if we Are reporting an Accident we could report merely that an Auto driven by Henry Jones collided with an Auto driven by Matilda James. The routine account be comes alive if we report that Henry s car was a red Jaguar convertible Matilda s a 94 Taurus Sedan. In descriptive writing look for the significant de tails. . James the British mystery novelist uses this trick with great skill. When she describes a sit Ting room we see the Small Blue bowl of Garden roses the blossoms overblown already peeling with Only one or two tightly furled buds darkening at the lips and destined never to be precise Don t write of a tree when you can write of an Oak. Yellow mums Are better than flow Robert Parker author of the Spenser mysteries always lets us know what Spenser is wearing. In playmates he begins in a Blue Oxford shirt with a traditional Roll in the Collar and a yellow silk tie his Cordovan loafers gleamed with Spenser and his lady love cease to be paper characters and take on flesh and blood Annie Proulx one of the Best descriptive writers of our time is a master of the telling detail. In tote shipping news Winner of this year s pulitzer prize for fiction a child opens a Box of crackers. The waxed paper inside was we hear it. Proulx paints the1 waterfront dimpled water the color of motor Oil packing crates a smell of garbage. We smell and metaphors important role in vivid writing in the new York times a few year Sago John Canby described Madonna wearing a Black wig whose lacquered curls look like Rolls of 35 millimetre Lawrence Toppman of Knight rid Der newspapers panned the movie Gladiator. Every situation arid every character is As stale As the inside of an unused let me recur to Proulx and the shipping news. Two men shake hands pumping the air As if draw ing deep water from a a colourful Sunset is like a flock of Birds in fire in a Garden we see a Boulder topped with silly Moss like hair above a face v. a couple of caveats have to be observed. Effective description has to be accurate description. The mums had better be mums at Rcd Henry s car had bet Ter be a jag not a Buick. Remember too that every literary device can be overworked. When we try too hard or a pretty phrase we May succeed Only in i venting a fall of thought to a sidetrack. Few writers can handle the language with the High wire Confidence of Annie Proulx but All of us can try. She writes vividly because she has Learned to look intently at dirty saucers tropical Birds standing rifles and Cotton waste. When Quoyle is seasick his face has the color of a bad Pearl Here is a writer who has seen a bad Pearl. Out of the experience she draws a simile As Fine As a Good Diamond. Universal press Syndicate it s not easy steering toward the Tony Kornheiser. Woman i work with who a about my age is in the Market for a new car. The last time she bought a car was 10 years ago. At the time her children were Small so she went shopping for a Safe sturdy celibate four door car. And had a midlife crisis inside the Dealership which caused her to drive off in a spiffy convertible. ". A i asked her Why. -. "i3ecause � one Saj
