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E. B. White Quotes about Style

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A writer's style reveals something of his spirit, his habits, his capacites, his bias...it is the Self escaping into the open.

A writer's style reveals something of his spirit, his habits, his capacites, his bias...it is the Self escaping into the open.

E. B. White
Escaping, Self, Style

To achieve style, begin by affecting none.

E. B. White
Style, Achieve

The beginner should approach style warily, realizing that it is himself he is approaching, no other; and he should begin by turning resolutely away from all devices that are popularly believed to indicate style - all mannerisms, tricks, adornments. The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity.

E. B. White
Simplicity, Style, Beginners
E. B. White (2011). “In the Words of E.B. White: Quotations from America's Most Companionable of Writers”, p.190, Cornell University Press

Place yourself in the background; write in a way that comes naturally; work from a suitable design; write with nouns and verbs; do not overwrite; do not overstate; avoid the use of qualifiers; do not affect a breezy style; use orthodox spelling; do not explain too much; avoid fancy words; do not take shortcuts as the cost of clarity; prefer the standard to the offbeat; make sure the reader knows who is speaking; do not use dialect; revise and rewrite.

E. B. White
Writing, Design, Style

My prose style at this time was a stomach-twisting blend of the Bible, Carl Sandburg, H.L. Mencken, Jeffrey Farnol, Christopher Morley, Samuel Pepys, and Franklin Pierce Adams imitating Samuel Pepys. I was quite apt to throw in a "bless the mark" at any spot, and to begin a sentence with "Lord" comma.

E. B. White
Writing, Style, Franklin

A breezy style is often the work of an egocentric, the person who imagines that everything that pops into his head is of general interest and that uninhibited prose creates high spirits and carries the day.

E. B. White
Style, Spirit, Imagine
William Strunk Jr., E.B. White (1962). “the Elements of Style”

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