I am an arbitrator, mediator, fact-finder and ALJ/hearing examiner in New Mexico, and I spend a sizable portion of my work day writing. It is both a labor of love, and a difficult task which I sometimes dread and with which I always struggle. That is because, although I love writing "right"--meaning I love the feeling of accomplishment and pride of looking upon a well turned out produce--it is hard work getting there. Perhaps many of you feel the same. Haven't you had the feeling where you're completely, psychically "done" after your outline, after figuring out where you need/want to go and how to get there? Unfortunately, our work is only begun at that point.
On the positive side, however, the literary greats are all in general agreement that it is a difficult task, even for them. As Mark Twain observed, "[t]he supreme function of language is to convey ideas and emotions." Four characteristics necessary to meet this function
have recently been identified by Law professor Douglas E. Abram, of the University of Missouri: precision, conciseness, simplicity and clarity. Here are some great quotes he's compiled that sum up those characteristics, as well as provide some insight into other writers' joys and travails with the craft in which "no one ever becomes a master." - Hemingway.
On the positive side, however, the literary greats are all in general agreement that it is a difficult task, even for them. As Mark Twain observed, "[t]he supreme function of language is to convey ideas and emotions." Four characteristics necessary to meet this function
have recently been identified by Law professor Douglas E. Abram, of the University of Missouri: precision, conciseness, simplicity and clarity. Here are some great quotes he's compiled that sum up those characteristics, as well as provide some insight into other writers' joys and travails with the craft in which "no one ever becomes a master." - Hemingway.
As to "precision,"
- "The difference between the almost right work and right word is ... the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug" -- Mark Twain.
As to "conciseness,"
- "This report by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read" -- Sir Winston Churchill.
- The writer must always bear in mind "how many distractions the reader has in life today, how many good reasons there are to put the book down" -- David McCullough.
- "[T]he writer who breeds/ more words than he needs/ is making a chore/ for the reader who reads/T hat's why my belief is/ the briefer the brief is,/ the grater the sigh/ of the reader's relief is" -- Theordore Geisel (a.k.a. "Dr. Seuss").
- "A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning" is akin to "a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hope he may hit" -- Samuel Johnson.
As to "simplicity,"
- "If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well" -- Albert Einstein.
- "[H]ave common sense and ... stick to the point" -- W. Somerset Maugham.
As to "clarity,"
- "[T]he first end of a writer," is "to be understood" -- John Dryden, British Poet Laureate.
- "The chief virtue that language can have is clarity, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words" -- Hippocrates.
- "Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people" -- William Butler Yeats.
Finally, necessary to attaining each of these characteristics, are the sometimes seemingly endless editing, revisions, and honing:
- "What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure" -- Samuel Johnson.
- "It is not the writing but the rewriting that counts" -- Willa Cather.
- "To be a writer is to throw away a great deal, not to be satisfied, to type again, and then again and once more, and over and over" -- John Hersey, Pulitzer Prize Winner.
- "Half of my life is an act of revision; more than half the act is performed with small changes" -- John Irving.
- "Writing is not like painting where you add ... Writing is more like a sculpture where you remove," and "[e]ven those pages you remove somehow remain," "[o]nly you don't see them." -- Elie Wiesel.
If you are interested in neutral services such as arbitration, mediation or contract ALJ services, in labor/employment or other areas of the law, please contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or info@pilarvailepc.com.
Notes:
Compilation Source: Douglas E. Abrams, "What Great Writers Can Teach Lawyers and Judges: Wisdom from Plato to Mark Twain to Stephen King," New Mexico Lawyer (5/11).
See also, my prior blog post on writing tips, Wise Tips on Brief (and Opinion!) Writing.
