Monday, August 2, 2004

Updating this journal has felt like a futile exercise lately. Writing well is rarely easy, but for the past few weeks it’s been a Herculean task.

Problem is, I want to write journal entries that are well-formed and entertaining as well as revealing. I can splatter my life’s ephemera all over these pages, but do I do so in a way that’s clear and interesting to my readers?

That may sound like a mere whining fear, but it’s not just that. I’ve realized recently that my journal writing could be much better formed. I want to write well. If I can write well, why not do so?

This came primarily from my recent purchase of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style, which prizes clarity and simplicity. Which is not to suggest that all writers should write like Hemingway; merely that writers should avoid unnecessary or unclear words. The written word should burst to life in crystalline clarity.

To completely change the subject: I’m back today from a wonderful weekend at Saalon‘s, attending the wrap party for Dreaming by Strobelight. I had a great time with the fifteen or so attendees, eating Lumburgers and drinking sake and playing DDR. I want to move up there even more now.

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