At My Window
What does this swan have to do with an essay on good writing? Why, this is a “pen,” a female swan (the male is a “cob”). She just happens to be resting a leg.
Recently, a prominent blogger responded to a complaint that he begins sentences with “And” and “But.” Readers came to his defense, agreeing the practice is acceptable. Here I dissent.
You can write clear, interesting, even memorable prose without beginning your sentences with the conjunctions, “And” or “But.”
In discussions of good writing, too much is made of “informality,” “cadence” and “conversational tone.” Frankly, I’m not sure what those words mean. Too often they are used to justify imprecise, verbose or vacuous writing.
Good writing demands only that you say precisely what you mean. Organize your thoughts; then express them simply and concretely, with no unnecessary words.
My favored guide is William Strunk’s famous little book, The Elements of Style. This is his often quoted summation:
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
Graceful writing meets this test, and goes beyond it. Grace and beauty in language not only are ends in themselves. They also heighten our perceptions, helping the writer to convey the most intimate or profound thoughts, and the reader to absorb them.
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I lament that with email, tweets, texting, etc. the kind of writing to which you refer is a dying art in our fast-paced society.