Classic advice for writing... and living

Years ago I picked up the classic book, “The Elements of Style”, by William Strunk Jr., and E. B.  White.  This  short manual has guided English majors for decades. Originally self-published by William Strunk Jr., an English professor at Cornell, it was combined with style hints by E. B.  White in 1957, and  it evolved into its now classic form. I fell in love with  its clarity and brevity, and its wisdom has guided my writing  for the past 30 years.

But I always sensed that The Elements of Style was much more than a guide to writing, that in a way, it was a guide to wise thinking and living. And my mindfulness practice has given me a whole new lens with which to view this iconic work. Here are just a few of the tips from this book, which could also be suggestions for a mindful approach to life. 


On page 70, White says, "Place yourself in the background.” Isn’t this the core of most wisdom teachings, to recognize that we are not the center of the universe, but part of a vast web of relationships and ever-changing processes? So  much of our suffering comes from worry over our self-image, or about how others perceive us, or in trying to get what we want. 

And yet, at the same time, White says, “The whole duty of a writer is to please and satisfy himself.” Embracing this seeming paradox lies at the heart of mindful communication, and a mindful life. 

 “Revise and rewrite.”  (p. 72) Writing is a humbling process, fraught with missteps. Revise and rewrite sounds like a  recipe for beginner's mind, where we start over,  again and again,  embracing error and failure, as part of the process . Excellence  in any endeavor is often achieved only after long effort, embracing the inevitable confusion and haziness at the start of any new project.

“Do not overwrite.” ( p. 72) “‘Rich ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome and sometimes nauseating.” This is as close as White gets to describing one cause of  suffering: our habit of exaggerating or blowing things out of proportion. The words we use matter, whether we are talking to ourselves or others. While using puffed up  prose  can be an essential part of a  good drama, it is  not a wise way to live day to day. Was our day “horrendous”, or just difficult? Is that project at work a “nightmare”, or just a challenge?

 “Avoid fancy words”.  (p. 76) Strive for simplicity and directness, whether in teaching, writing or living. When you breathe in,  just breathe in, and when you breathe out, just breathe out. When writing, just write. When teaching, just teach,

“Be clear”.  (P. 79) White notes that a badly worded communication can have dire consequences: “ Muddiness is not merely  a disturber of prose, it is also a destroyer of life, of hope”. In the same way,  a  mindfulness practice helps us to be clear about both what is happening in the present, and about our intentions. “What am I doing right now?” is a question that can help clarify our purpose and activity in each moment. “Am I turning right at an intersection, or playing with my ipod?” “ Am I focusing on my breath, or fantasizing about a piece of Hershey’s chocolate- or maybe doing both?”  Mindfulness doesn’t say we must do one or the other.  It just asks us to be clear about  what we are doing, and to be aware that a lack of clarity can have real consequences. Even confusion can be worked with. If we know we are confused, are we still confused?

From page 70, “Write in a way that comes naturally”. If all the rules and suggestions get to be too much, White offers this advice:  be natural, be yourself. 

When it came to rules in  my mindfulness practice, I used to think  in terms of  rigid “have- tos”, rather than suggestions, and this caused a lot of anxiety. “Am I doing it right”? “Should I do it this way?”  “Am I breathing correctly?”  I’ve learned that it's up to me to see how a rule works in a particular situation, and there are times I have to trust my  intuition (or as White would say it, our “ear”). 

White's mentor, Strunk has great advice too. (His brief manual is the first part of the book). On page 23 he says,  “Omit needless words”.  Isn’t this the heart of mindful, lean speech, as well as clear writing? “Right speech” is a lifetime of study in itself, and omitting needless words - both on paper and in daily life- is a great starting point. 

How much harm could I have avoided in my own life if I had decided to omit needless words as a daily practice? I have never regretted pausing and asking myself, Do I really need to say this now? But I have regretted many of the words that have escaped my lips. 

Although The Elements of Style is a straightforward, unsentimental work, it is ultimately suffused with compassion.  White says, (speaking about his mentor's tips), “All through The Elements of Style, one finds evidence of the author’s deep sympathy for the reader. Will (Strunk) felt that the reader was in serious trouble most of the time, a man floundering in a swamp, and that it was the duty of anyone attempting to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get his man up on dry ground, or at least throw him a rope.”

The Elements of Style is a  trustworthy guide for getting us out of the swamp of unclear communication- and maybe even from confusion itself.