The last journal was silly. The topics that I have discussed over the past couple weeks feel disconnected and incomplete. But this was anticipated, considering my approach was to document random encounters of that day. This silliness will continue for one more month and then the format will change. Instead of a two or three paragraph blurb each day, I will select a topic at the start of the week and progressively work on an thorough overview of that topic with a sprinkling of personal insight from myself. That way I avoid just regurgitating the material I am reading, instead understanding, questioning, and finally¹ excepting or rejecting adjudicate the idea(s). To prepare for these weekly projects, I need to engrain a robust writing habit. Therefore, continuing to write writing in these blurbs will be my output for the next month. Blurbless by January!

Please pardon that earlier blurb. Today I have for you a blurb within a blurb - blurbception, if you prefer. A friend sent me a succinct advice sheet pulled directly from the classic work of Strunk and White. I liked it, so allow me to reproduce it here - with some personal touches - as a nice record for my and your future self.

Important Notes on Writing Well

1. ) Delete meaningless words:
   kind, actually, particular, really, just, basically,
   virtually, generally, individual, certain, various, practically, very, extremely,

2. ) Delete doubled words:
   full and complete, hope and trust, each and every,
   first and foremost, any and all, basic and fundamental

3. ) Delete what readers can infer:
   “Do not try to predict future events…”
   “Past history shows us…”
   “Events that unexpectedly surprise you…”
   “period of time”
   “terrible tragedies”
   “true facts”
   “various differences”
   “basic fundamentals”
   “final outcome”
   “free gifts”
   “each individual”
   “large in size”
   “unusual in nature”
   “round in shape”
   “at an early time”
   “area of mathematics” “a rare anomaly”

4. ) Replace a phrase with a word:
   “Carfeully read what you have written” -> edit
   “The thing to do before anything else” -> first
   “Use X instead of Y” -> replace
   “(explain) The reason to” -> (explain) why
   “Despite the fact that” -> even though
   “In the event that” -> if
   “Prior to” -> before
   “Accept or reject” -> decide

5. ) Change negatives to affirmatives:
   Not careful -> careless
   Not the same -> different
   Not allow -> prevent
   Not notice -> overlook
   Not many -> few
   Not often -> rarely Not clear -> unclear

6. ) Delete adjectives and adverbs:
   “…our habit of seeing issues and ideas as absolute and irreconcible principles continually at war.”
   “To move beyond this static and limiting view, we can remember the Chinese approach to yin and yang.”
   “…should be brought into balance as much as possible…” “We should ask ourselves whether we truly believe…”

I summarise the six steps above as:

“Let the power of a word’s meaning speak for itself.”

The moral is, have a broad vocabularly so you can erradicate verbosity. To practise my six mantras of Elements of Style, I have read this journal post and removed any adverbs and adjectives, and any unnecessary words. It definitely reads better.

1: I am unsure about removing ‘finally’. Without it, the meaning of accepting/rejecting change. Perhaps there is a word to replace ‘finally accepting or rejecting’? Adjudicate!