Last updated on March 19, 2012
Every once in a while I get correspondence from someone chiding me for the way I write — in particular the informality. I received one the other day complaining about sentences that begin with “but” or “and.” There is, however, a reason I write this way.
You see, the things I write about are very important; they affect lives and the destiny of nations. But despite that, economics can all too easily become dry and boring; it’s just the nature of the subject. And I have to find, every time I write, a way to get past that problem.
One thing that helps, I’ve found, is to give the writing a bit of a forward rush, with a kind of sprung or syncopated rhythm, which often involves sentences that are deliberately off center.
More broadly, the inherent stuffiness of the subject demands, almost as compensation, as conversational a tone as I can manage.
More here, with credit to Michael Roberts.
Here is more excellent advice on writing, albeit not from Paul Krugman: “25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing (Right F***ing Now),” and “25 Things Writers Should Know about Rejection.” The language is NSFW, but the content is excellent.
Krugman on Writing Well
Last updated on March 19, 2012
Every once in a while I get correspondence from someone chiding me for the way I write — in particular the informality. I received one the other day complaining about sentences that begin with “but” or “and.” There is, however, a reason I write this way.
You see, the things I write about are very important; they affect lives and the destiny of nations. But despite that, economics can all too easily become dry and boring; it’s just the nature of the subject. And I have to find, every time I write, a way to get past that problem.
One thing that helps, I’ve found, is to give the writing a bit of a forward rush, with a kind of sprung or syncopated rhythm, which often involves sentences that are deliberately off center.
More broadly, the inherent stuffiness of the subject demands, almost as compensation, as conversational a tone as I can manage.
More here, with credit to Michael Roberts.
Here is more excellent advice on writing, albeit not from Paul Krugman: “25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing (Right F***ing Now),” and “25 Things Writers Should Know about Rejection.” The language is NSFW, but the content is excellent.
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Published in Commentary and Miscellaneous