Writing is flawed. It’s an imperfect medium to be sure. But still so approachable compared to all the other forms of expression[1].
I find myself fluctuating between writing in a particularly flowery, overly metaphorical way and writing in as direct and simple a way as possible. The metaphorical approach feels best when first formulating thoughts and sentences, the simple approach seems to emerge when I actually try to read those sentences. Simple tends to prevail.
Of course that means plenty of thoughts or feelings won’t be well-expressed. I don’t think flowery metaphorical language gets any closer at expressing them than simple language, it just feels like it does in the moment.
The goal is to find something in between, a style of writing that though terse, expresses something beyond the simplicity of the construction. Or, perhaps, complex construction that can be interpreted with ease. An impossible contradiction[2], perhaps, but still the goal.
Some related thoughts:
Last updated Wed Nov 10 2021 in Berkeley, CA
2: /thought/hypocrisy-and-contradiction.gmi
3: /thought/the-authority-of-writing.gmi
4: /thought/time-and-context-as-editors.gmi
5: /thought/in-praise-of-rants.gmi