February 27, 2008: Joseph M. Williams, the author of the classic Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, has died. It is a huge loss to anyone concerned with writing, not to mention the many who knew and loved him. I did not have the good fortune to ever meet him or hear him speak, but he is revered in the community of writing teachers. The ten lessons discussed in his book are:
- Write with readers in mind
- Write clearly
- Write concretely
- Write in an active mode
- Put the subject at start of sentence
- Put rhetoric at end of sentence
- Edit, edit, edit; and cut, cut, cut
- Get the verb in the main clause
- Create structure
- Write ethically
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