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<\/a>In my first \u2018proper\u2019 writing job I was lucky enough to have two mentors.<\/p>\nOne, Don, had studied economics and had begun his working life as a Chartered Secretary.\u00a0 He wrote his copy in longhand on pages from a lined foolscap pad.\u00a0 Whenever possible, he started writing at the earliest possible opportunity and then put the draft to one side, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for a few days.\u00a0 Later, he would take it out and spend about as long polishing it as he had spent on writing it.<\/p>\n
My other mentor, David, had begun his career as a reporter on a daily newspaper.\u00a0 He typed his copy on an old manual typewriter.\u00a0 And he wrote it at what always seemed like the last possible moment.<\/p>\n
Both men were experienced writers.\u00a0 Both answered the brief they were given.\u00a0 Both met their deadlines.<\/p>\n
As a junior, I found it easier to adopt Don\u2019s method of working: starting early; letting time do its work; and then polishing, polishing, polishing.\u00a0 But I also looked forward to the day when I would be able to match David\u2019s daring high-wire act: dashing off a few hundred ready-to-publish words in less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
Alas, I never did manage to acquire David\u2019s apparent facility.\u00a0 And, looking back a few years later, I realised that neither did he.\u00a0 Yes, his pieces met the brief.\u00a0 But there was hardly one that could not have been improved considerably by a fresh eye and a vigorous polish.<\/p>\n
I think that David would have loved modern technology.\u00a0 He could have produced even more words in even less time.\u00a0 In fact, like many other people, he probably would have felt obliged to do so.<\/p>\n
But as technology helps more and more writers to produce and publish more and more words faster and faster \u2013 and helps readers to \u2018read\u2019 those words faster and faster \u2013 written communication risks becoming less and less effective.<\/p>\n
Sometimes a little slower is a lot better all \u2018round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Gradually, as the time invested by the average writer and the average reader in the average sentence falls, society’s ability to communicate in writing decays.\u2019 \u2013 David Gelernter In my first \u2018proper\u2019 writing job I was lucky enough to have … Continue reading