Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it.
Stephen KingRead
One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones. This is like dressing up a household pet in evening clothes. The pet is embarrassed and the person who committed this act of premeditated cuteness should be even more embarrassed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Using complex vocabulary unnecessarily can detract from effective communication and may lead to embarrassment.
In this quote, Stephen King emphasizes the importance of simplicity in writing, warning against the tendency to overcomplicate language with long, fancy words. He uses the analogy of dressing a pet in formal attire to illustrate how such unnecessary embellishments can lead to awkwardness and ultimately detract from the clarity and sincerity of the message.
Themes
WritingSimplicityCommunicationLanguageAuthenticity
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a writing workshop to inspire participants to embrace simplicity in their work.
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