WEEK ONE WRITING ABOUT WHAT YOU READ (by the way, this is the third task you have each week)
(a reminder, you do not have to reply to your classmates in this section. This response to the reading should be about a paragraph.)
What do you think of these writing rules? Does one stand out to you? Why? What are your most important rules of writing?
What do you think of these writing rules? Does one stand out to you? Why? What are your most important rules of writing?
The beauty of writing is the freedom to say what you want to say how you want to say it. My best work is obtained not by sitting and thinking of how things should be formatted or stopping for hours to think of the perfect phrase or word, but when I am able to pour from my soul. The best literary works aren't always those who followed these so called rules. There would be no Jane Austen if she followed the rules of her time. The beauty of a story is that the author can take it anywhere their imagination will take them. Not everything is made to be sensible and explainable. Look at the creativity of books such as "A Wrinkle in Time" or "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." There is a reason why we can only use theories to explain people, because there is always an exception. There are exceptions for these rules that can lead to extraordinary stories.
ReplyDeleteThese rules tell us ways how most writers are making their work shorter and less complex so that readers of all levels can understand the plot. This,however, is not how writing should be. A writer's best work always comes out “as is” and it usually won't follow the rules provided above. While I can understand why some may choose to follow these rules, writers should know that the best part of writing is that you can take it anywhere you can think of. Not everyone will agree with the direction your work will take, so you might as well make it something you want it to be. I believe going against these rules promotes thinking, and that is something a writer should be proud of. So be free and write whatever your heart desires because that is how the best stories are created.
ReplyDeleteThese three readings were very different from one another. The first reading from Orwell clearly stated what a writer should and shouldn’t be thinking about when writing. Whereas the second one, which I enjoyed the most, focused more on how a story should be written. Twain went into detail explaining how a reader should feel when reading an excerpt, and also how the writer should be describing the characters. The third reading seemed to have been pulled from one of the strictest and most ignorant authors in the world. Her writing was very one-sided and uncreative. Overall, I enjoyed this weeks “rules of writing” excerpts, however I appreciated Mark Twain’s the most. I feel like his set of rules was very general and therefore is still able to be put into action into todays writing.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of these rules for writing are still relevant today. Although I initially dislike of few of them such as Leonard's rule about exclamation marks because I love to emphasize what I am saying especially when I am talking in a first person or casual tone of voice such as in the blog posts for assignment one. However, I do admit that it would make my writing more formal and professional if I left them out. The one rule that I did not like and do not see much value in as a standard rule is Orwell's rule "never use a long word when a short one will do." Often times I believe that using bigger words allows for more detail and creativity in writing. Although I did not agree with all the rules, all of them had merit depending on the type of writing. However, Twain's rules were by fair the funniest and most descriptive.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the most important rules for writing are: understand your objective, keep your audience in mind, use creative words and sentence structures, and be clear in your meaning.
ReplyDeleteWriting should always be formal when doing schoolwork. I agree with these authors about the rules of writing. These rules are easy to follow in writing. I enjoyed reading the beginning of the first article because they are questions that I can easily take into my own writing. They are questions that I could look over when I am proof reading an assignment. When writing an academic essay or school assignment, one should not use words that are not professional. There is one way to talk to friends and there is another way that should be used at school. On an academic ground, students should know not use figurative language such as a simile. For example, instead of saying “sick as a dog,” one could write very ill. They have the same meaning but the second phrase sounds more professional. Although they are phrases that we have all heard of, one should know not to use metaphors or similes in academic writing. I am taking this course to improve my writing skills and learn more about the English language.
These rules presented by Orwell, Twain, and Leonard each have in common the do’s and do not do’s to successful writing and creative literature. Although they are similar in which they stress certain rules, they also have many differences in tone and overall message. Orwell’s rules are instructional and guiding for writers. For example, I could use these rules as a rubric when checking for mistakes in my writing. People believe that big words are necessary in order to sound professional. This is where the appearance of the word can take away from the overall meaning. Orwell does not want writers to over think. In other words, less is more.
ReplyDeleteTwain’s set of rules stood out to me the most because he emphasizes that writing should be so realistic that readers will feel as if they are a part of the piece. Anyone can make up a story, but a good writer will give readers something more powerful that they can relate to. Leonard’s rules did not appeal to me because I interpreted them as more critical and ridiculing of writers, rather than helpful. Orwell and Twain provide a set of rules that can help individuals grow in their writing. Some people enjoy the details because they are free to make it whatever they want it to be. Sometimes in writing, the places and things are what make the piece unique. My most important rule of writing is to write exactly what is on my mind. This can be referred to as free writing. No rules exist because my imagination has taken over. Afterwards, I scroll through and edit any silly or unnecessary words. Because writing is a form of expression, I don’t believe that there is a correct or incorrect way to write. That’s the beauty of it. Every person can create something unique that nobody else could ever duplicate. The beauty of literature is that the messages and lessons are infinite. Every person is free to use their imagination and create a meaning that is relevant to their own life and story.
Each and every writer has a different set of rules when writing or proofreading. The writing rules by Orwell, Mark Twain, and Elmore Leonard all have something different to say. They share writing rules that are relevant and helpful to them as writers. Orwell’s Essay, “Politics and the English Language,” provides writers with guidelines to carefully proofread their work when writing by asking questions. I, at times will ask myself the same set of questions like, “Am I making sense?” or “Will the readers understand?” These writing rules are tools a writer should take into consideration. Mark Twain’s writing rules stood out to me the most. He created a story that incorporated his different writing rules to follow. I felt it connected to more of how he writes, even when he writes his own books. As writers, we have our own way of expressing ourselves. We may have our own writing rules that we go by that may be different from someone else. I disagree with Leonard’s writing rules, because in one of his writing rules he says, “avoid detailed description of characters.” As a writer, we should be able to freely describe what we are talking about or create a picture in the readers mind. Some of the writing rules I find important is keeping your audience interested, use clear writing, and have fun! (Wait. Elmore Leonard said to keep our exclamation marks under control).
ReplyDeleteEach Arthur had their own variation of a common set of rules while each expressing their very own. Some of the common ones were consistency, clarity, and precision. I think these writing rules help to set up a good structure for all writing types. I found that the rule about never starting a book with the weather the most interesting. I have read several books that started with the weather and still rather enjoyed them. I was curious to know why there were rules about not the weather. I don't have much writing experience therefore not many rules. The ones I try to follow would be staying consistent with the writing style chosen and trying to be concise when explaining proving my argument.
ReplyDeleteOrwell captures the foundation writing approach in which the writer thinks about what he/she is to write and how to write it. However correct, I always like to start with who is the audience. Knowing your audience helps in the rigidity of the rules one follows. If the audience is simple friends and family, then hours spent agonizing over the content of the message seems ineffective. If the audience is colleagues then the breadth of time it takes to complete such a task needs to be adjusted for (or maybe only in my mind a paper of such caliber requires such an investment). It maybe, many of you could formulate such an article in no time. That could be the link between what I think and how poorly I write. I envy those who maintain the ability to articulate varying degrees of information in such poetic verse. If one can write where each sentence flows like the spring thaw, connecting each small lanes of information until they finally emerge, a main idea, at the mouth of a wide river. If to write well is to write within rules, Twain makes an argument that such rules are just common sense. Which, in writing novels or short stories, served his purpose when writing towards the masses. Unlike Twain, I do not write stories but, I identify more with his common sense style than Orwell's. It is difficult for me to differentiate writing rules. Although, if I choose to write more, with practice, I may get the hang of it.
ReplyDeleteI think Orwell’s rules were very straightforward. They were not hard to decipher, and they were put simply which seems to be the theme of his rules. Most of his rules I agree with such as number 3 about cutting out unnecessary words. I personally extremely dislike long drawn out sentences. Although, I do enjoy thorough detail when it comes to scenery and characters. Twain’s rules, on the other hand, seem to break Orwell’s number 3. Especially Twain’s rule number 5. If Twain had written his rules according to Orwell’s opinion, I would expect Twain’s rules to be put much simpler. Despite this and my earlier statement about disliking long drawn out sentences, I like Twain’s rules the most out of these 3 sets. Twain seems to consider the images that come out of the sentences and not just the sentences themselves. He doesn’t put great emphasis on sentence structure, but the style of it and how it comes off to the reader and the effect it will have on them. His rules seem more like guidelines to me, but well written guidelines. Elmore’s rules really disappointed me. I did not agree with very many of them. Why not open with weather? Maybe a rainy day will set the mood for the coming story. Why not have prologues? I enjoy when the story is set up for me, and I get a little more insight. That seems to be just a matter of opinion to me. Also, like I said earlier, I enjoy details, and it is disheartening that Elmore casts them off in his rules. It is in direct contrast with Twain’s rule number 11, which is my favorite. I love feeling like I know the character as one of my own friends, and a great way to accomplish this is by doing as this rule says. My most important rules of writing would be: give great detail in scenery and characters, give familiarity to the dialogue, make the characters relatable, use outstanding grammar, and don’t skimp out on putting your heart into your writing.
ReplyDeleteEvery writer has they're own specific ways in which they write. I believe that's what makes literature exciting, because everyone carries their own specific beliefs and express themselves in the their own way. Orwell states more of the basics to writing what to do and what not to do. I can relate to his writing, why complicate a reading when it could be short, sweet, and to the point. Also, what caught my attention was when Orwell said, "Have i said anything that is avoidably ugly?". What i got of this was that at times we feel so strongly about our writing, that we put in personal beliefs and thoughts which can interfere with what we are tying to get the readers to understand. Twain and Elemore also have important rules that are very different from each other. In my own writing experience I can relate more to Orwell's writing rules. I tend to express myself a lot in writing so i try to stick to the main point, and make sure i get my point across. With more practice on these rules i believe i can become more familiar with specific writing rules.
ReplyDeleteEach writer has his/her own way of writing, this is what makes them different from one another and makes them special. Every writer has their own set of rules when drafting a proofreading a paper. Orwell's rules were concise and to the point. I agree with a lot of what he says about cutting out words that are, in other words, causeless. I am not a huge of fan of lengthy thoughts when you can get the same point across in fewer words. Twain wrote his rules in more of a story format, which stood out to me a lot. He gives you an insight into the way that he gets his point across in a creative way with useful tips on how to write a good story. I didn't like Elmore's rules. I think that he pointed out the things that he doesn't like rather than giving helpful tips for writers. Everyone writes differently and some people like things more than others. When I read a story I want a picture painted in my mind. I want to feel like I could be standing right there next to a character talking with them and experiencing everything with them. If a writing can do that without getting off topic then I will most likely enjoy their story. I hope one day I will have my own set of rules to follow that will make me a great writer.
ReplyDeleteThe three different readings provided were an interesting read of rules regarding writing. As I was reading some of the rules however, I felt that some were comical in a sense. In Orwell’s essay, “Politics and the English Language,” he states that a writer will ask whether he has “said anything that is avoidably ugly.” What does this mean however? The term “ugly” can be defined in so many different ways, it would be interesting to see what he refers a sentence to be “ugly” as. In all great novels, I have always understood each sentence to be as important as the next one. Another interesting rule that directly applies to me would be Elmore Leonard’s rule of avoiding “detailed descriptions of characters.” All through out middle and elementary school, I have learned that detail is key in writing. It is important for the readers to know what exactly is trying to be clarified, and so if details can be given, it should be stated. I hope to find out what exactly the two are trying to be conveyed.
ReplyDeleteAfter writing philosophy papers, my whole notion of writing has changed. There are so many ways of conveying an idea that proper structure and word choice is key in every paragraph. My most important rule, that I try to incorporate in every paper, is to make sure that the idea is consistent with the theme and that details are supporting the main argument of the essay. It is often difficult to keep focus of the overall theme of the paper because there might be other important components that help describe the argument that is trying to be conveyed. My main focus is to try and outline the different points and details while still trying to stay on point and not go off on a tangent.
Another important piece that I try to always remember is to keep aware of who I am writing to. Who is my intended audience? I feel that this piece of information is key to writing a well-developed paper because it shapes the whole concept and outlook of the paper. From word choice to key details, knowing who the reader will be is essential. If the reader is a member of a applications committee, the word choice has to reflect on the kind of writer that I am. If an essay is being written for a friend, then word choice is not so important. Again, knowing who the audience is essential to writing.
In “Politics and the English Language”, Orwell first four rules are used by most writers today. These rules make writers brainstorming much more clear and concise. If the writer were to start writing without asking themselves any questions then their writing would not be very comprehensible. However, I do not agree with the rest of his questions especially rule number two “Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly”. If writers stopped their writing process because they believed they were going to offend someone, there would be no books in the world. In the past, books have been banned because someone did not agree with the ideas being portrayed. Writers should not have to worry about this and every writer should be able to express their ideas even if we do not agree with them. In “Twain’s Rules of Writing”, Twain has very strict rules. If writers were to follow Twain’s rules of writing people would be stuck reading the same story over and over. Rule number two states that “the character should be clearly defined that the reader can tell beforehand what each would do”, then there would be no mystery in writing. His rules of writing are appropriate for certain pieces of writing but not for all. In “Elmore Leonard’s Rules for Writing”, his rules are very specific. Writers should not be caught up in how many exclamation marks they are using. Writers should be able to describe characters and places in detail so the reader feels closer to each character.
ReplyDeleteOrwell’s, Twain’s and Leonard’s readings highlight the importance of writing, by providing set of rules as a guidance to be a great writer. Their focus is writing methods, which I find helpful in writing a successful paper. Yet, I did not agree with all. In the first reading, his question, “What words will express it,” took me back to high school. As always our teachers state the importance of considering the audience. Knowing our audience makes it simple as to how to express ourselves in our writing. Also, “never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.” I never found this an issue in literature, I think it allows writers to be creative and themselves in their writing. I personally like this and prefer detail descriptions of characters in writing, which Leonard’s disagrees. It allows readers to imagine what the author is speaking of.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the rules for readings one and three were kind of overboard or at least for me because I don’t follow those rules. For example the rule from reading one that says “have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?” I personally don’t ask myself this question when I am writing, therefore to me it’s new or even strange. Another rule that stood out to me was from reading three and it states “never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose." I don’t use the phrase all hell broke loose but I do use the word suddenly every now and then, however I don’t view it as a negative thing. So, in my perspective the reading that I liked the most was reading two. Although this reading had a lot of rules for writing, these rules were the ones that made the most sense to me. I really liked how the rules focused on the characters of a story and the overall message. These writing rules really emphasized how one should describe the personages of a tale. I’m not an expert at writing therefore I do not follow all of these rules, however I do believe they are all important and I wish I could follow all of them in order to master the art of writing. Overall, I think these three readings all had some good tips, along with some peculiar ones, yet the majority of them were helpful and I hope to implement some of them in this class.
ReplyDeleteEach writer had different rules and writing styles, some which I agreed on, while others I disagreed with. I favored more with Orwells rules. He mentions to never use any type of figure of speech in writing. He also states to cut words out if it is possible. I use both these rules throughout my writing. I also agree with Twains rule about not going into detail when it comes to characters; it makes the writing boring. Although I don't agree with Elmore Leonard's rules because he tries to set limits on how much you can write. I personally believe that writing is to express yourself and write what you want when you want.
ReplyDeleteThe three readings were different from one another. However, one thing they had in common were all the rules were simple and straight forward. In Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”, I really liked how the questions are set up and are very helpful question that a writer could use while proofreading. Orwell’s questions are clear, easy to follow, and very helpful to a writer. In Twain’s “Rules of Writing”, his rules are written in a story format, which I thought was interesting. Twain really went into detail explaining how describe the characters. In the third reading, Elmore “Leonard’s Rules for Writing” his rules are very specific and straight to the point. I thought it was interesting how Elmore stated “avoid detailed descriptions of characters” while on the other hand Twain’s really concentrated not to skip the details. Ultimately, all three readings had very good points and I will certainly go back to them as a writer and I hope to keep on learning from these rules.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas of Orwell resounded with me the most. I have been described as a straight-to-the-point person, so I do find myself asking while I write “Could I put it more shortly?” Although there are plenty of forms of writing which call for flowery and poetic language, I believe that when you are trying to get a point across, there needs to be direct and straight-forward language. I agree with these rules the most because I use many of these rules with scientific writing for my Biology and Chemistry courses. I noticed that a few of Twain’s rules were similar to Orwell’s, such as “eschew surplusage” and “employ a simple, straightforward style.” Although Leonard believes in straightforward, simple language, I disagree with his rules the most. I am a huge fan of classic literature, and it is the detailed descriptions of setting and characters that really make literature intriguing for me. I find dialogue to much more interesting when there are verbs used other than “said.” I don’t think novels would be quite as interesting without all of the exclamation points and words like “suddenly.”
ReplyDeleteI think that the writing rules of Orwell, Twain and Leonard are very different from one another. The range of these writing rules personally made it interesting for me to be able to see how the process behind writing varies from one writer to the next. The writing rules that stood out to me the most were both Orwell's. The question that stood out to me from Orwell's writing was, "What words will express it?" There have been many occasions where I knew what I wanted to write but wasn't quite sure if my words were really explaining what I actually meant. It is almost as if I could think exactly what I wanted to write but once I began jotting it down on paper, I could not explain it the way I really wanted too. I think this has happened to me before because at the moment I can't really think of the actual words that will fully express what I want to say and I end up adding extra words that probably didn't need to be included. Which also ties in with another point that Orwell made when he stated, " if it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out." I know when I have written papers in the past, I tend to add more words in order to go more in to detail about what I am saying and later realize that I could have shortened up what I wrote and could have still got my point out. I think it is very easy to want to write more when it comes to an assignment or a paper, specially if the assignment must meet a specific amount of pages and get lost in the quantity which can possibly hurt the quality of the paper or whatever it may be that is being written. With that being said, the most important rules of writing for me are to get straight to the point but without leaving important details out so that the reader will be clear on what was written. I also wanted to add that I did not agree with Leonard's rules of writing. Leonard's rules included not giving too much detail about characters, places or things which I personally feel are important in writing. I love when there are detailed descriptions about a character, place or thing because I feel as though I know the place or know the character that I am reading about. Other than that I pretty much agreed with most of Orwell's and Twain's rules of writing.
ReplyDeleteI think that overall the authors are sticking to what has shown to be successful in their own writing careers. Orwell's writing style is straight to the point and uses clear and concise wording in order to quickly grab the readers attention. Personally, I agree with Twain's writing style most because it never leaves the reader questioning. Is is a more reality based style because it gives all the essential information and detail without the extra nonsense. It is intuitive because he wants to write in a way that the reader can maintain a consistent emotion towards the characters and plot. Elmore seems to have a less expressive style of writing. He dislikes excessive detail when it comes to describing characters and places in the story. I personally dislike his choice to omit adverbs and expressions because it may not keep my attention.
ReplyDeleteI think that Elmore's rules stood out to me most because as a writer I have always been taught to describe, describe, describe! As I mentioned before I'm a big fan of Nicholas Sparks and one of the things I like about his style is his vivid details and descriptions. When I read his novels I can easily picture the setting and imagine how each character looks. For my own writings, some of the rules I try to apply are a mixture of Orwell and Twain's. All three however, seem to suggest that direct, straight to the point approaches are most appreciated by their readers.