What Is Vigorous Writing?

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I named my blog Vigorous Writing because, as I was brainstorming for a good title, I came across this outstanding quote by William Strunk, Jr., co-author of The Elements of Style:

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell." [Emphasis mine]

That description of writing deeply resonates with me, and I strive to live up to it--although I often don't. It's perhaps the best description of good writing I've seen so far.

Strunk & White's Examples of Vigorous Writing

In their book, Strunk and White give plenty of examples of how to change typical writing into vigorous writing. Here's a few:

"this is a subject that" becomes "this subject"

"the reason why is that" becomes "because"

"the fact that he had not succeeded" becomes "his failure"

Let's Get Vigorous

The approach to writing expressed in Strunk's definition of vigorous writing would, if ardently followed, improve everyone's writing.

I encourage you to read that quote closely, and even to write it out or print it out and put it somewhere you'll see it whenever you write.

If we commit ourselves to making sure what we write contains "no unnecessary words" as best we can, not only will we enhance our prose, but we'll sharpen our critical thinking skills as we search for the simplest, clearest words to express ourselves.

Jesse Hines is a freelance writer. He has written company profiles, press releases, marketing copy, and investigative articles. If you have any writing needs, contact him at jessehines@hotmail.com

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