On Writing Well 11.1

Vocabulary

1.Don't try to visualize the great mass audience.

visualize:使可见；使形象化。e.g.visualize the scene of a battle想象战斗的画面。此处意为：不要试图去想象大量读者的样子。

2.But I found that the Dayton illuminati got it down with gusto.

gusto:热情；兴致。通常用法：sb do sth with gusto

3.This is pure Mencken in its surging momentum and its irreverence.

irreverence:不虔诚的，不尊敬的。e.g.irreverent laughter无礼的笑声

4.It may seem a miracle that Mencken could get away with such heresies in the 1920s, when hero worship was an American religion and the self-righteous wrath of the Bible Belt oozed from coast to coast.

heresy:与大多数人或某种观念不符的异端邪说。复数形式是y变i＋es。

worship：可做名词或动词，为敬奉、信奉；敬重的意思。复数与第三人称单数均为worships ，做动词时变形需要双写p

wrath:盛怒，震怒。the wrath of God:上帝的怒火。

ooze：可作动词或名词。动词时意为渗出；流出；泄漏；出众，名词时意为软泥；渗出物；浸泡液。ooze out of ; ooze from ; ooze through.  oozy:adj,软泥的

5.Mencken was never timid or evasive ; he didn't kowtow to the reader or curry anyone's favor.

timid: 羞怯的，缺乏勇气的。timidity:n，胆怯 timidly: adv,胆怯地

evasive：回避的，逃避的。同义词：cagey evasively:adv;evasiveness:n

kowtow :叩头；顺从；惟命是从；对某人卑躬屈膝：kowtow to 叩头：kowtow against

Excerpt

Editors and readers don't know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they're always looking for something new.

You are who you are, he is who he is, and either you'll get along or you won't.

Just as it takes time to find yourself as a person, it takes time to find yourself as a stylist, and even then your style will change as you grow older.

Notice the decisions that other writers make in their choice for words and be finicky about the ones you select from the vast supply. The race in writing is not to the swift but to the original.

Writing is learned by imitation.

Good writers of prose must be part poet, always listening to what they write.

Remember that words are the only tools you've got.Learn to use them with originality and care.And also remember: somebody out there is listening.

Summary

这两章是关于观众和语言的问题。

作者进行写作时，势必面临这样的问题：为谁写作?答案是，为了自己而写作。如上一章所说，写作是一种发自内心的行为，与有无观众并没有关系。既然如此，为什么还需要考虑clutter的问题呢？因为clutter关乎写作的方法、技巧。而为自己写作则是写作的态度。那么，处于技巧上的原因无法吸引读者，纯是作者自己的问题，因为读者并不知道自己想看什么。写作者的风格可能会随时间改变，但真正重要的，是真诚地写作。作品如果连自己都看不下去，怎么能指望其他人来看呢?

在写作中，需要注意语言的使用。用词简练并不意味着新闻报道式的文风。也不要故意用老旧的语言。如前所述，合适的才是最好的。此外，阅读对写作有很大帮助，同一件事，不同作家有各自不同的表达方式，这也可看出作家不同的文风。字典是很好的帮助工具，同类词语汇编之类的书也是。这并不意味着需要如孔乙己一样知道“回”字的四种写法，而是同一意思下不同的词语表达。这样，可根据句子长短音律选择不同词语，从而达到音韵的和谐。