THE ART OF WRITING
A good style of writing must have an air of novelty, at the same time concealing its art, says Aristotle. Newness is preferred in every field, including in writing. But, it should never appear glaring. A good style is also one which is clear and precise. There should be no ambiguity in your style. Always, a good style of writing is acquired and it is not an inborn quality. For a man to write well, three things are quite necessary. To read the best authors, observe the best speakers and exercise much of his own style. Anyway, imitation should stop at one stage and your own style should start to gain its grip over the course of events. A well-written piece is obviously clearly expressed.
'Brevity is the soul of wit' is also one of the well-acclaimed styles of writing. To use more words to describe a particular thing prove to be wasting of words at the end of your writing. Touch and go' is yet another style of writing that the author leaves much for the readers to perceive and understand.
Apt words in apt places go a long way to make writing lofty and reader-friendly, G.K. Chesterton clarifies about the style of writing, "A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author." A bad writing exposes the author and he is in a vulnerable position. In the matter of biography and autobiography this is a thumb rule that a well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one. Only a few life stories do not bore the readers.
John Keats says about poetry, "If poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all.' As far as poems are concerned, the outflow of thoughts should be natural and easy going. Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings is one of the well-known definitions of poetry. Style is the dress of thought. A good writer knows how to dress his thoughts in a presentable way. A French writer, Baron de Montesquieu, says about his writing, "I suffer from the disease of writing books and being ashamed of them when they are finished". Some writers remain unsatisfied with their own writing though their work is muchly acclaimed by the readers.
A good writer strikes a face-to-face conversation with his readers, as writing is a sort of conversation by which the writer holds the attention of his readers throughout. A good writer is convincing and also realistic in his views, ideas and thoughts. Alexander Pope, in his 'Essay on criticism', says about writing, 'True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learned to dance". Writing is an art, an effortless art, that is at times god gifted and also by rigorous practice.
