Steven Millhauser Quotes

Good sense is both the first principal and the parent source of good writing.

The first requisite of style, not only in rhetoric, but in all compositions, is perspicuity.

Good writing does not come from verbiage but from words.

There are people who have tremendously important things to say, but they say it so poorly that nobody would ever want to read it.

Good writing is like a windowpane.

False eloquence is exaggeration; true eloquence is emphasis.

Anyone can make an article longer; the skill is keeping it tight and lean.

He that will write well in any tongue, must follow this counsel of Aristotle, to speak as the common people do, to think as wise men do: and so should every man understand him, and the judgment of wise men allow him.

Good first drafts and speedy responses to consumer dialog will always trump lawyered corporate speak.

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

One false word, one extra word, and somebody's thinking about how they have to buy paper towels at the store. Brevity is very important. If you're going to be longwinded, it should be for a purpose. Not just because you like your words.

The proper words in the proper places are the true definition of style.

I love the right words. I think economy and precision of language are important.

Eloquence is the essential thing in a speech, not information.

I still remember the first acronym I learned, BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front. I still try to communicate that way. No reason to dance around getting to the point.

You just can't make bad writing look good. But if you have good writing, you just say it, and it's almost done.

Why say 'utilize' when you can say 'use'?

When the public doesn't understand me, it's a battle. So when I choose words, I choose them for their musicality, rhythm, and sense, and I choose the right dialect to express that.

Fine writing is a distinct disadvantage. So is unique literary style. They take attention from the subject

Seek always for the best words and the happiest expression you can find.

It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Any one may mouth out a passage with a theatrical cadence, or get upon stilts to tell his thoughts; but to write or speak with propriety and simplicity is a more difficult task. Thus it is easy to affect a pompous style, to use a word twice as big as the thing you want to express; it is not so easy to pitch upon the very word that exactly fits it.

Great things only require to be simply told, for they are spoiled by emphasis; but little things should be clothed in lofty language, as they are only kept up by expression, tone of voice, and style of delivery.

The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.

You have to be precise. You have to be specific, but you want to be accurate. That is first and foremost. You want to be on top of the story, but words do matter.