Comments on: Happy Anniversary Strunk & White http://writeabetternovel.net/happy-anniversary-strunk-white/ Practical wisdom for novelists and other storytellers Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:32:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bill Henderson http://writeabetternovel.net/happy-anniversary-strunk-white/comment-page-1/#comment-604 Bill Henderson Mon, 04 May 2009 19:46:10 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=1726#comment-604 Expanding on that, there is a general view (I agree with it) that the more suffixes you pile on, the weaker each succeeding word becomes. Money... monetize... monetization... monetizational... monetizationally... And so on. If someone said, "Monetizationally speaking," I'd want cork that person. On the other hand, if the phrase was, "speaking of money..." I'd be on the edge of my seat. Expanding on that, there is a general view (I agree with it) that the more suffixes you pile on, the weaker each succeeding word becomes. Money… monetize… monetization… monetizational… monetizationally… And so on. If someone said, “Monetizationally speaking,” I’d want cork that person. On the other hand, if the phrase was, “speaking of money…” I’d be on the edge of my seat.

]]> By: Ryan http://writeabetternovel.net/happy-anniversary-strunk-white/comment-page-1/#comment-598 Ryan Mon, 04 May 2009 15:19:53 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=1726#comment-598 I recently picked up a new, hard-bound, copy of The Elements Of Style. A stylish red volume with illustrations by Maira Kalman to replace my torn-up paperback (the silver one pictured on the far right, above). Also, there's a fair amount of italics used in the quote below, but I don't believe this comment section is HTML enabled. Oh well! Favorite quote from the "Words And Expressions Commonly Misused": "-ize. Do not coin verbs by adding this tempting suffix. Many good and useful verbs do end in -ize: summarize, fraternize, harmonize, fertilize. But there is a growing list of abominations: containerize, prioritize, finalize, to name three. Be suspicious of -ize; let your sear and your eye guide you. Never tack -ize onto a noun to create a verb. Usually you will discover that a useful verb already exists. Why say "utilize" when there is the simple, unpretentious word use?" I recently picked up a new, hard-bound, copy of The Elements Of Style. A stylish red volume with illustrations by Maira Kalman to replace my torn-up paperback (the silver one pictured on the far right, above). Also, there’s a fair amount of italics used in the quote below, but I don’t believe this comment section is HTML enabled. Oh well!

Favorite quote from the “Words And Expressions Commonly Misused”:

“-ize. Do not coin verbs by adding this tempting suffix. Many good and useful verbs do end in -ize: summarize, fraternize, harmonize, fertilize. But there is a growing list of abominations: containerize, prioritize, finalize, to name three. Be suspicious of -ize; let your sear and your eye guide you. Never tack -ize onto a noun to create a verb. Usually you will discover that a useful verb already exists. Why say “utilize” when there is the simple, unpretentious word use?”

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