« September 06, 2011 | Main | September 10, 2011 »
September 08, 2011
Writing Well: The Editors.
I have performed the necessary butchery. Here is the bleeding corpse.
--Henry James (1843-1916), after a request by the Times Literary Supplement to cut 3 lines from a 5,000 word article.
James with Edith Wharton, 1904
Posted by JD Hull at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Writing for Clients, Judges, and other Humans.
Insane Lawyer Posse? Lawyers, including some judges, have a certain way of talking to each other on paper which (1) really isn't needed and just alienates the rest of the thinking and semi-lucid world, and (b) even makes it think we are talking to ourselves dementedly and self-absorbedly like mental patients on third-rate time-released crank. For example, from the first line of an actual federal district court complaint (with changes made only to protect the lame):
COMPLAINTCOMES NOW, the plaintiff, Upstart Corporation, by and through its attorneys, Adams, Bones & Carson, LLC, brings this cause of action against GiantMart, Inc. for violations of the Lanham Act, and for its reasons, files with this Honorable Court the herein Complaint, the following of which is a statement of its averments and allegations:
Why not instead just:
COMPLAINTPlaintiff, Upstart Corporation, states:
Is it just me?
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)