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Writing and Thinking: A Handbook of Composition and Revision
Book by Foerster, Norman, Steadman, John M. Jr.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1941
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 3, 2014
If you only have two books on writing, they should be this one and The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. This book is fantastic! It's well worth buying and essential to read.
It's an excellent book. It teaches correct writing and grammar. It also explains the core of language, which is to communicate effectively by expressing one’s thoughts in a manner that’s as close to they are in the mind, but with the ability to translate into something well understood by others. For example, in our mind we may think in fragments, so we should translate these fragments into full sentences to communicate, but we should nonetheless make sure the thoughts most significant to us are conveyed as most significance, and those that are side notes by conveyed as such. In this quote the authors explain the importance of remembering that writing is to communicate: “Writing should be regarded, then, not as soliloquy, but as the transmission of thought from one mind to another” (p. 38).
I never formally learned grammar and this book taught me well. Foerster and Steadman do say that it’s best to learn through observation of good writer’s, “unconsciously perhaps, applying these principals in our own writing” but that as a supplement, and because not everyone has the time to do all that reading, the rules of grammar should be taught (p. 7). There are extensive exercises at the end of each section and this book could be used as a text for a full course.
The premise of this book, which I don’t believe could be disagreed with, is that writing and thinking are linked. “If words are dependent on thoughts, thoughts are also dependent on words” (p.45). There is a brief discussion on the idea that thoughts might be able to exist without words, but they aren’t very well-formed at that point (p.45). Writing begins with thinking. Clear thoughts equal clear sentences. “A fundamental requirement of the sentence is that it express one complete thought,” the authors note, in one of many links between writing and thinking (p. 6). “Every time we master a new word, indeed, we are also extending the scope and power of our mental life” (p. 45).
I really enjoyed this paragraph, where the authors speak to their readers in a very straightforward and authoritative tone: “Remember, finally, that there is no short cut to effective diction; that 'fine writing' (flowery language) is always cheap and ugly; that affected mannerisms of style only obscure the thought and annoy the reader; that strained, contorted language is not an indication of strength; that deliberate smartness suggests only the spoiled child. You are not to toy with words; you are to think honestly and write honestly” (p. 47).
One of the reasons I didn’t like Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life, which I read before this book, was because she spent around one-hundred pages writing about something that could have been said in one brief essay, with the topic sentence: “I believe that the writing life is boring and that much of it involves sitting around and waiting for the gods of writing to possess you so that suddenly something appears on the page.” She doesn’t believe in outlines or that the author has any real control over his/her work; instead, she describes her chapters as getting away from her like a wild beast she cannot control. This is because she is not a clear thinker and doesn’t have a clear idea of what she wants to say. I think Foerster and Steadman would agree. “Poor writing is commonly the work—yes, the drudgery—of writers who have nothing to say and who consequently write without interest; and good writing is commonly the work—rather, the delight—of writers who have thoughts to express and who wish to communicate them” (p. 52).
In a later chapter, Foerster and Steadman write more about the necessity of having clear thoughts to produce clear writing. “… how can he see it clearly for himself unless he experiences and knows it intimately and fully? How can one describe a person of a place unless one has truly seen, and not casually noted, the characteristics of that person or place? How can one narrate an incident unless one has determined what really happened, or a story unless one has mastered all the interrelations of its events? How can one explain a thing when one does not properly understand it, or argue sensibly when one has not thought the subject through and procured sufficient telling evidence?” (p. 76).
There is a section called Order, which discusses the importance of having an outline. The outline is the product of having clear thoughts and organizing them in key points on paper. “A theme of only one or two paragraphs may be planned mentally, but a longer one should always be planned on paper. Otherwise, we shall probably waste a vast amount of energy in writing passages that must be discarded, in trying to move paragraphs into the positions demanded by logic, and in presenting important matter that we had forgotten, the total result being, despite our plans, a lame and impotent procession of half-formed thoughts. If we will be overcome our impatience, we shall learn that the easiest procedure is to prepare in advance a clear outline and to keep it before us as we write” (p. 77).
It's an excellent book. It teaches correct writing and grammar. It also explains the core of language, which is to communicate effectively by expressing one’s thoughts in a manner that’s as close to they are in the mind, but with the ability to translate into something well understood by others. For example, in our mind we may think in fragments, so we should translate these fragments into full sentences to communicate, but we should nonetheless make sure the thoughts most significant to us are conveyed as most significance, and those that are side notes by conveyed as such. In this quote the authors explain the importance of remembering that writing is to communicate: “Writing should be regarded, then, not as soliloquy, but as the transmission of thought from one mind to another” (p. 38).
I never formally learned grammar and this book taught me well. Foerster and Steadman do say that it’s best to learn through observation of good writer’s, “unconsciously perhaps, applying these principals in our own writing” but that as a supplement, and because not everyone has the time to do all that reading, the rules of grammar should be taught (p. 7). There are extensive exercises at the end of each section and this book could be used as a text for a full course.
The premise of this book, which I don’t believe could be disagreed with, is that writing and thinking are linked. “If words are dependent on thoughts, thoughts are also dependent on words” (p.45). There is a brief discussion on the idea that thoughts might be able to exist without words, but they aren’t very well-formed at that point (p.45). Writing begins with thinking. Clear thoughts equal clear sentences. “A fundamental requirement of the sentence is that it express one complete thought,” the authors note, in one of many links between writing and thinking (p. 6). “Every time we master a new word, indeed, we are also extending the scope and power of our mental life” (p. 45).
I really enjoyed this paragraph, where the authors speak to their readers in a very straightforward and authoritative tone: “Remember, finally, that there is no short cut to effective diction; that 'fine writing' (flowery language) is always cheap and ugly; that affected mannerisms of style only obscure the thought and annoy the reader; that strained, contorted language is not an indication of strength; that deliberate smartness suggests only the spoiled child. You are not to toy with words; you are to think honestly and write honestly” (p. 47).
One of the reasons I didn’t like Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life, which I read before this book, was because she spent around one-hundred pages writing about something that could have been said in one brief essay, with the topic sentence: “I believe that the writing life is boring and that much of it involves sitting around and waiting for the gods of writing to possess you so that suddenly something appears on the page.” She doesn’t believe in outlines or that the author has any real control over his/her work; instead, she describes her chapters as getting away from her like a wild beast she cannot control. This is because she is not a clear thinker and doesn’t have a clear idea of what she wants to say. I think Foerster and Steadman would agree. “Poor writing is commonly the work—yes, the drudgery—of writers who have nothing to say and who consequently write without interest; and good writing is commonly the work—rather, the delight—of writers who have thoughts to express and who wish to communicate them” (p. 52).
In a later chapter, Foerster and Steadman write more about the necessity of having clear thoughts to produce clear writing. “… how can he see it clearly for himself unless he experiences and knows it intimately and fully? How can one describe a person of a place unless one has truly seen, and not casually noted, the characteristics of that person or place? How can one narrate an incident unless one has determined what really happened, or a story unless one has mastered all the interrelations of its events? How can one explain a thing when one does not properly understand it, or argue sensibly when one has not thought the subject through and procured sufficient telling evidence?” (p. 76).
There is a section called Order, which discusses the importance of having an outline. The outline is the product of having clear thoughts and organizing them in key points on paper. “A theme of only one or two paragraphs may be planned mentally, but a longer one should always be planned on paper. Otherwise, we shall probably waste a vast amount of energy in writing passages that must be discarded, in trying to move paragraphs into the positions demanded by logic, and in presenting important matter that we had forgotten, the total result being, despite our plans, a lame and impotent procession of half-formed thoughts. If we will be overcome our impatience, we shall learn that the easiest procedure is to prepare in advance a clear outline and to keep it before us as we write” (p. 77).
July 8, 2016
In order to fully appreciate this book, one should do all the exercises after each chapter.
November 25, 2018
One of the half dozen most useful books I've read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews