On Writing Well ch.23

Vocabulary

specimen, dissect

I thought it might be helpful to show how some of those decisions get made, using one of my own pieces as the specimen being dissected.

specimen [C] 样本，标本；（用于化验的）血样，尿样
insect specimen 昆虫标本；dinosaur fossil specimen 恐龙化石标本
He is a tough specimen.
[造句] Tower bridge is lauded as the finest specimen of the modern architecture.

dissect v. 解剖（尸体或生物）；仔细分析，剖析
[造句] We dissected the prose in class.

annotate

I’ve annotated the piece, explaining the decisions I made along the way.
给...作解释，给...注释
Annotated edition of Shakespeare's plays help readers to understand old words.
[造句] He annotated the classical Chinese poem at several places.

apprehension

Make them identify with you—with your hopes and apprehensions.
（对未来的事情）忧虑，担心
[造句] There is an apprehension about the safety of children in the nursery.
apprehension 也有逮捕，拘捕的意思 arrest
[造句] The police announced the apprehension of the terrorists in the early morning.

begrudge

Altogether, the sentence took almost an hour. But I didn’t begrudge a minute of it.
吝惜；舍不得给，抱怨 to give or concede with displeasure
[造句] Many parents never begrudge money on children's education.

formidable, stave off

The total task seems less formidable, and panic is staved off.

formidable 可怕的，难对付的；令人敬畏的
a formidable opponent 劲(jing4)敌
[造句] He is a formidable figure with a great deal of respect.

stave off （暂时的）阻挡，避开；减缓
[造句] The cash-strapped company staved off the project.
stave 五线谱

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Summary

Ch.23 A Writer's Decision

这一章给出了一些写作的小建议。这四点是对writing well的总结，前几章也提到过很多次了。

Linear sequence; logic; maintain tension; narrative.

结构方面又提到了如何开头，怎么写好lead。

The lead must grab the reader with a provocative idea and continue with each paragraph to hold him or her in a tight grip, gradually adding information.

用平实的语言来叙述，一句话只写一个观点，不要太复杂，保持linear sequence，环环相扣，让读者跟得上你的思路，沉浸在你的故事里。也需要一些鲜活的动词来吸引读者的兴趣。不要把自己限制在固定套路里，不用为了完成流程加一个多余的结尾，该停就停。

No writing decision is too small to be worth a large expenditure of time

Zinsser可以用将近一个小时去琢磨一句话，每一个词每一个句子都是一个decision，不要吝惜你琢磨、思考的时间。

Get on the plane

旅行啊真的是个很快乐的事情，出发之前会有些小紧张，但完全换了个新环境，会让人很有活力，也有新的想法，旅行真的能带来很多美好的回忆。

As a nonfiction writer you must get on the plane. If a subject interests you, go after it, even if it’s in the next county or the next state or the next country. It’s not going to come looking for you.

那么作为一个作家，也要get on the plane，对某个主题有兴趣的话，要主动追着它走，想好了就去做。

Decide what you want to do. Then decide to do it. Then do it.