A very comical post on the hokiness of poorly written obituaries on Poynter.org's Writing Tools Blog. It's funny, but it's got me thinking about how hard it is to write about (or even talk about) a person's death. Unfortunately, I've had the unpleasant task of buying "In Sympathy" cards twice recently. What a feeble gesture it is to send a card to the grieving, and what pap is to be found in sympathy greeting cards. We are rarely as tempted to resort to cliches as we are when dancing around fresh, feral grief. I found myself reading the cards and wondering, if my husband (father, mother, child, best friend) had just died, which of these cards would annoy me the least?
Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools was recently released and I had the opportunity to check it out at B&N. He has generously provided the text of the book online as well. What a guy. Nothing revelatory here, but great tips for streamlining and strengthening writing.
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Thanks Darling, both for the prompt post AND the link to a new quote for my bulletin board. I have now replaced "If you just live by formulas you are closed" by David Ray, with "Favor the clever truth over the unctious bromide" by Roy P. Clark. There are just never enough opportunities in a week to use the word untious, and I was afraid it would lie lame at the side of the road unattended. Now I see it has been treated and is back on the job. What a relief!
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