Took Me A While To

I Was Standing Next To A Famed Geo-politician When The First News Of The Argentine Attack [on The Faulkland Islands] Was Received, And Heard Him Muse Incredulously: "an Old-fashioned Naval Battle. A War Between Two Civilized Nations, Perhaps With Even A Declaration Of War, And Later A Peace Conference. Wow." No Hostages, No Nukes, No Ideologies, No Religious Fanaticism; Just A Fair-and-square War Over National Interests - Hard To Believe, In This Day And Age.

If You Want To "get In Touch With Your Feelings," Fine, Talk To Yourself. We All Do. But If You Want To Communicate With Another Thinking Human Being, Get In Touch With Your Thoughts. Put Them In Order, Give Them A Purpose, Use Them To Persuade, To Instruct, To Discover, To Seduce. The Secret Way To Do This Is To Write It Down, And Then Cut Out The Confusing Parts.

Give Your Main Clause A Little Space. Prose Is Not Like Boxing; The Skilled Writer Deliberately Telegraphs His Punch, Knowing That The Reader Wants To Take The Message Directly On The Chin.

A Book Should Have An Intellectual Shape And A Heft That Comes With Dealing With A Primary Subject.

Adapt Your Style, If You Wish, To Admit The Color Of Slang Or Freshness Of Neologism, But Hang Tough On Clarity, Precision, Structure, Grace.