One of my “things to do” for 2007 is to read at least five books on the craft of writing. As of today (I started around Dec. 10th), I am through three. I cannot remember the title of the first one because it was so bad that I threw it away the minute I finished reading the last page. I picked up Ayn Rand’s, The Art of Non-Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers, the next day. Rand’s book has a few good thoughts about thinking through on topics and the necessities of outlining (which I am not doing here), but it is a bear to dig through her politics to find them.
After reading Rand, I decided to re-read my copy of Irving Younger’s, Persuasive Writing, and I am glad that I did. I have not found a better book on persuasive writing than this one. While the book is written to lawyers, all one needs to do is swap “writer” or “speaker” for “lawyer;” his language principles are applicable to any kind of persuasive communication. The value of Younger’s book is exemplified through a few of my favorite quotes:
“The rule of commutation for reasoning in quantities says that a true equation is true in either direction. If 3 + 2 = 5, the 5 = 2 + 3. The equivalent of the rule of commutation for reasoning in words as that bad thinking makes bad writing and bad writing makes bad thinking.”
“Because writing is perceptible - the ear and the eye tell you whether writing is good or bad - while thinking is not - only thought can test the quality of thought - bad writing is usually easier to recognize than bad thinking. That is why, when you’re on the look-out for bad thinking, you watch for bad writing. Flag a patch of bad writing and you’ve spotted a mess of bad thinking.”
“Clarity of language comes with clarity of thought. The question that precedes the writing of each word, phrase and sentence of a [writer’s] language is, “What do I wish to say?” Until the precise answer to that question is known, formulation of the answer is impossible. Expression equals content, if you will, in that language can be no clearer than the thing expressed.”
“Observe, though, that if expression equals content, than content equals expression. One cannot think clearly unless one uses language clearly. A [writer’s] ideas originate in words, phrases and sentences floating in the [writer’s] mind. If those words, phrases, and sentences are loose, the ideas they represent will be loose. If their relationship to each other is inexact, the ideas they state will be no better than approximate. Content and expression, in short, are reciprocals. No clarity of language without clarity of thought, and no clarity of thought without clarity of language.”
My copy says that Persuasive Writing can be obtained only through the Professional Education Group. I looked it up on their website and the book costs just $20.00. In our Oprah culture, we’ve grown lax about persuasion and its relevance to the Gospel message. (We don’t “proclaim the gospel,” but we do give a lot of “talks.”) If you are a preacher of the gospel (or a writer), the $20 spent on Younger could be the best $20 that you spend in all of 2007.
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