The Elements of Style Celebrates 50 Years of Good Grammar
“Omit needless words.” So says The Elements of Style, a small (105 page) guide to writing that has proven to be a trusted companion for writers, students and everyone in between. The book celebrated its 50th birthday on February 16th, and inspired me to write this post. For a grammar book that I’m now just skimming through, it has some serious, unexpected punch. Perhaps it is the author’s devotion to writing succinctly that makes every page speak and address the reader in the clearest of terms. In my own writing, I’m trying to eliminate ‘needless’ words and pay closer to attention to words that I tend to use profusely, but as I’m learning, mean nothing (hopefully, anyone?)
In a world of short form (blogging, email, Twitter), style often tends to get neglected. To clarify, the proper language that has long been taught in grammar schools seems to have become less and less relevant. I’ve been known to lazy out of writing “by the way” in lieu of BTW. Reading a bevy of blogs (from tech to food, design, news and everything in between), I’m often struck by how style-less writing seems to be these days (at least from the grammar rules perspective). I’ll admit, I too happily write run on sentences and misuse punctuation marks on my blog because I can. But style, it seems, can be taught. And it doesn’t have to be a rigid, bad thing.
Even Twitter, it seems, can have a style guide. In a world where communication is increasingly more micro, The Elements of Style is a little book that seems to hold the key to writing that speaks volumes, without a microphone. As someone whose job depends on clearly communicating a story, I find the message behind The Elements of Style relevant to every medium that I use to communicate. In fact, I find myself concentrating hard to understand exactly what I am trying to communicate. When looking at an email window, I always ask myself just how important the stuff below the line is. If the story is compelling and it’s clear, the main message should fit in the first paragraph–the rest is just anecdotes and logistics.
Reading this little book makes me appreciate the art of writing in a new way–and in a way that I think transcends whatever medium I’m using–be it Tweeting at someone, sending a brief pitch, writing a blog post, or even a thank you card to a dear friend. As newspapers face uncertain times, and the blogosphere continues to become a more and more relevant source of information and entertainment, it’s important to remember that with change, we shouldn’t forget tradition. Few rule books have stood the test of time, and true devotion of so many talented people, like the Elements of Style. As the media world continues to adapt to new mediums, the fundamental core of clear and concise writing still remains the foundation of the message.
-
brianlburns