On Writing Well CH20

I. Words and express

1. But in its avoidance of sounds that would cheapen its tone: breeziness and condescension and clichés.

bresziness  a breezy liveliness 轻浮的文风

condescension    the trait of displaying arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior

2. The grammar is formal, the words are plain and precise, and the cadences are those of a poet.

cadence  the way someone’s voice rises and falls, especially when reading out loud

3. There's no need to labor all the reasons why this stuff is so terrible. It's crude. It's corny. It's verbose. It's contemptuous of the English language. It's condescending.

labor all the reasons  详细分析所有的原因

corny  too silly and repeated too often to be funny or interesting

verbose  using or containing too many words

contemptuous    showing that you think someone or something deserves no respect

condescending  (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension

这几句的小短句十分巧妙，crude与corny相近，contemptuous与condescending同义

4. In the writer's attempt to ease the reader's journey he has littered the path with obstacle: cheap slang, shoddy sentences, windy philosophizing.

"cheap slang, shoddy sentences, windy philosophizing"  廉价的俚语、劣质的句子与空洞的哲学思维

5. If you're smitten by the urge to try the breezy style, read what you've written aloud and see if you like the sound of your voice.

smitten  affected by something overwhelming

6.  I ealize I'm trying to pin down a matter that's subjective; one person's beautiful object is somebody else's kitsch.

kitsch  art in pretentious bad taste 

"one person's beautiful object is somebody else's kitsch" 正是“甲之蜜糖，乙之砒霜”之义

II. Summary

There are many different forms of literature. However, it doesn't mean that we should change ourselves to fit every forms. Writing is about the same person writing different subject. When we write, write with respect, be loyal to our heart and be thoughtful to the reader. If you want to use something like breezy style, make sure you like it.

Imitate other writers is very essential. Reading other writers could plug us into a longer tradition that enriches us. Imitate will never ruin our own voice and identity, on the contrary, it make us create our own style. In every article, we should know that plain nouns make sense. What's more, never avoid to use the style and character in our own heritage.

III. Thoughts

其实在这一章里，开篇读到作者应当坚持自己的风格，不应去刻意适应各种文体，我是有些怀疑的。毕竟在古代的文体论中，“奏议宜雅，书论宜理，铭诔尚实，诗赋欲丽”，各类文体天生就有不同的特色，作者如何能够固执地坚持自己的风格呢？

接着往下读，慢慢的理解了，Zinsser所说的个人风格说到底还是要回归到personality与humanity上。我们需要根据不同的文体调整形式与必要的措辞，但抛开文字，那个在创作的“我”是不变的，也就是说，不应让文体约束了自身个性的展现。所以，这种“个人风格”，如果要从古代文论中找到个对应词的话，那么应该是“风骨”。Zinsser还提到了形成个人风格之前必不可少的是模仿，的确，模仿他人并不会扼杀自己的风格，相反，这正是脱胎换骨的一个过程。举个例子，一提到苏轼，人尽皆知的是他的豪放旷达的词风，但老苏在作词之初，所学却是柳永，并且他一直把柳永当做学习的对象与对手。老苏未尝不曾作婉约词，然学柳而不似柳，脱胎换骨，自成一家。而且，老苏不但有旷达之词，其诗与文也同样清旷通达，在整个宋代文人中，独树一帜。正所谓，他人写文是写文，老苏写文是老苏。