The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    cmaukonen's picture

    How to wite gud

    Some thoughts.

    Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives. - William Safire

    Comments

    Safire was a cool guy in some ways. A bit authoritarian though.


    Funny!  I break every one of Safire's rules. (Not on purpose.)  I should just pack up my quills and go home, but I ain't gonna do it.  No way, no how.


    /snort

    Never really appreciated Safire before. Every sentence a negative example of its own admonition.  Too funny.  Thanks.


    Ok, I'm embarrassed.   But I get all of them except "Verbs have to agree with their subjects."  How would the agreement in that sentence be corrected?


    You're not the only one who doesn't get it. Maybe there's a historical difference there, but I'm not getting it either. A quick Google search turned up nothing.


    I think 'have' in this case is a typo.  On other lists of Safire's fumblerules, the sentence is "Verbs has to agree with their subjects."  Not sure which which lists are accurate and I do not really care enough to buy Safire's book. :-D

    http://dmorgan.web.wesleyan.edu/materials/safire.htm


    It was probably edited.