Thursday, February 25, 2010

Secrets Revealed

Photo source: ( btr.michaelkwan.com/.../)



Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
~ William Safire


There you have it. I have provided the wisdom you seek, and you now know the secrets of a perfect novel.

Wouldn't it be nice if that was all it took?

39 comments:

Unknown said...

lol! That was classic. Definitely a lot of wisdom in there. Haha!

Christi Goddard said...

Thanks for posting this. I loved it.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Those are some of my favorite rules to break.

Karen Lange said...

Love it! Thanks for sharing it. Have a great day:)

Hardygirl said...

Ah, that is tooooo cute!!!

sf

Anne Riley said...

I really love this! Thanks for posting it!

Anne Riley said...

I really love this! Thanks for posting it!

Anne Riley said...

Whoops. Sorry about the comment spam up there. =)

Kelly Polark said...

Ha! :)

Stacey J. Warner said...

Ah yes, in my writing class it is all about rewrite, rewrite, rewrite...I've learned so much.

I've been busy, this will shift in the next two or three weeks.

Thanks for all your support and love!

Jennie Englund said...

Those reminders are PERFECT!

I'm printing them out and taking them to class RIGHT NOW!

Patti said...

Rewriting is the only way to go and lots of it.

Great rules to live by or sometimes bend.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

But I like starting sentences with conjunctions!
I do it when I want to punch up the sentence. "However" doesn't hit like "But." What can I say? I break rules.

Elana Johnson said...

Yes, that would be awesome if that's all it took! Thanks for the smile today. :)

Amalia Dillin said...

Haha! Nothing better than rules that break themselves in the telling!

Anonymous said...

I'll be sure to apply this in the editing prosess... process. ;o)

Robyn Campbell said...

Is that all? Sheesh, why have I been doing all of this squirming and worming. hehe

At least I know now. =) And tis all because of my sweet, wonderful pal Shannon. What would I do without ya? I'd be lost in a sea of conjunctions and adverbs and such. *grin*

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I love all of my wonderful, commenting friends. I'm glad you are able to chuckle at today's post. As always, my main goal is to make you smile. :-)

Unknown said...

*laughs* this was fun!!! I think everyone wishes it was that easy... excellent wisdom for the week!

Candice said...

I start way too many sentences with conjunctions. I know it's wrong, but I just like to. It's a problem.

This is clever and cute!

Mary Aalgaard said...

That was great. Made me laugh. And, I'd like to say, I enjoy starting sentences with conjunctions. I'm a rule breaker. Can't help it. It's in my blood!!

Unknown said...

Another great post, Shannon :)

Shelley Sly said...

This made me smile. :)

Kelly H-Y said...

Love it! :-)

Sara {Rhapsody and Chaos} said...

dude this was awesome! You always find these great things about writing to share :)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Hahaha! If only...

But I have been accused of breaking some of these rules ;)

Catherine Denton said...

I'm copying that! :)

VR Barkowski said...

Mr. Safire is right. But like him, I've been guilty of breaking everyone of these rules at one time or another. Love this!

I wish this was all that was required for a perfect novel!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Very clever!

Susan Fields said...

Loved it! And I'm sure I've probably broken all of those at some point or another.

Jay said...

William Safire had such a way with words! Thanks for sharing.

Stephanie Thornton said...

Hehe! I love the last line!

Unknown said...

It all comes clear now... :)

dolorah said...

Well there you go! I can now complete that perfect novel, lol.

Thanks Shannon; you made my day. Actually, more like made my weekend, and I'll be using these theories in my revision confinement.

........dhole

* said...

I love your posts. If only all of the books on my writerly to-read books could be condensed down to a few lines like this, it'd sure save some time!
:)

Laurel Garver said...

I have a pin that says "avoid cliches like the plague, they're a dime a dozen". It was a great conversation starter in grad school!

Sherrie Petersen said...

Perfect!

kanishk said...

Thanks for posting this. I loved it.

Work from home India

Heather Zundel said...

Wow, that is great. I think I've seen this before, but it's been a long time. It says it so (un)clearly. :)

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