If it's baroque, fix it.

I was pleased to learn that one of my blog posts, Slow Making, has been selected for inclusion in the UU World Magazine which is sent to members of Unitarian Universalist congregations in the US. The editor described my writing style "as baroque yet subtle." He said,"I find it both demanding and rewarding." Some editing was required. The version of the post that will appear in print will be improved over its first publication in this blog. Writing is just like any other craft. You get better at it by doing it, and despite my efforts to have a plain and effective voice, just as in the making of beautiful things, my own character and wandering excentricities show through.

I've worked with a variety of editors and each has helped me see just a bit more clearly how I write, and each has helped me in finding my voice. That is not to claim that necessary improvement in my writing is complete. We human beings learn best by doing and we would all be better writers if we were first doing things worthy of writing about, and about which we feel passion. An editor can cut the writer's long meandering thoughts (photo at left) into short sentences,  but if meaning and passion aren't there in the first place, writing is in serious trouble.

What does it mean if one's writing style is baroque? According to blogger Mark Dominus, in a baroque writing style, "The sentences are long, but always clear, if read with care and attention." Dominus states, "I like being required to read with care and attention. I'm good at it, and most modern writing does not offer the reader much repayment for that talent." So I will not apologize for word lines that wander, but cut true the pencil lines marked on wood.

My challenge is to keep things simple... to state my case as clearly and concisely as a fine line in furniture or in a box, so readers don't have to work quite so hard to get my point. Aside from that there is little that I can tell you that will make sense or make your life more meaningful unless you are concurrently observing the wisdom of your own hands.

Make, fix (the baroque) and create.