George
Orwell -- novelist, essayist, journalist and critic -- is commonly ranked as one of the most influential English writers of the 20th
Century. His works Animal Farm and 1984 are
widely regarded as among the best ever written.
Born in India, Orwell suffered from tuberculosis and died at the young age of 46 in early
1950, shortly after 1984’s
publication.
He said and wrote many, many quotable things, one which was included on a list called "24 Quotes That Will Inspire You To Write More," thoughtfully sent to me by my friend Danielle Yeager.
Here was what Orwell said about crafting
words into "writing":
“A scrupulous
writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four
questions:
1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it
clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have
an effect?
And he
will probably ask himself two more:
1. Could I put it more shortly?
2. Have I said anything that is
avoidably ugly?”
Good
questions and wise words worth sharing.
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Wow! We should all put this list on a sticky note and attach it to our computers. Thanks for passing this along.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
I know. It's great!
ReplyDelete