Perhaps it’s possible to lose readers’ interest with writing
that’s too complex or clever. An overabundance of highbrow vocabulary,
technical terminology, or multi-syllabic words might put a halt to page
turning. Perhaps we can elicit groans
with superfluous punning. (And there it
is.) It could be that excessive wordplay or use of figurative language
might send readers’ minds awhirl and off-topic.
American humorist and poet Ogden Nash (1902-1971) said this more succinctly. (Nash
wrote tons of poems, mostly comical. His books included Candy Is Dandy, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, I Wouldn't Have Missed It, Lineup for Yesterday, The Tale of Custard the Dragon, and Versus.
“Here’s
a good rule of thumb: Too clever is dumb.”
The best writing can be creative and colorful and witty and
wise, but it must also be understandable by its intended audience. Maybe that’s
obvious, at least theoretically. In practice, however, things can look very
different.
Ogden Nash had a way of stating rather obvious observations
in witty ways. Here’s another example:
“People
who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.”
Uh-oh. Maybe we’ve been doing this whole writing thing
wrong, after all. I think it’s time to look into one of those adjustable
standing desks.
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Love Ogden Nash (of course, being a children's poet, not that he wrote for children really but much of his stuff is accessible!). Yes, writers are the exception that proves the rule unless they are J K Rowling... I do have a rising desk however, does my arms and back a lot of good! ~Liz http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com
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