Have I made Myself clear?
You may think this is a stupid question.
But sometimes I find my writing getting a bit stodgy and clunky. When this happens, I turn to an expert in clear and concise writing.
Who is this expert?
Sir Harold Evans.
Harold Evans was a giant in journalism both in the UK and the USA.
I am not going to write a biography of him. That would be very long, and I could not do justice to his career.
During his time working in the UK, before moving to America, he was editor of The Sunday Times and then The Times.
He was editor of the Times when it was bought by Rupert Murdoch. Evans and Murdoch clashed and eventually Murdoch removed him.
He wrote a very good account of that time in his book “Good Times, Bad Times.”
I read that book many years after the dust had settled on that conflict.
I spent all my working life in the printing industry, and I had two brothers-in-law who worked in the newspaper industry, one of them for The Times. So I had an interest in the story.
However, I am drifting away from the point of this article.
It was when I heard of the death of Sir Harold in 2020 that made me look him up on the internet.
I discovered he had written a book titled.
“Do I Make Myself Clear?”
I bought it on Kindle, and it is one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. I don’t have the literary powers to tell you how eye opening I have found this book to be.
So, I am going to writers who can.
“In the tradition of George Orwell, who said that political language is designed to make lies sound truthful, Harold Evans reminds us how important it is to write clearly.”
Walter Isaacs.
And this from a critic on the Daily Telegraph.
“A powerful argument for the importance of language, and a signal warning of the consequences of its abuse.”
Warning us of the perils of language misuse is not all the book offers.
Harold Evans also teaches how to avoid waffle in writing and gives several examples of how it can be avoided.
I use it as a reference book and dip into it when I feel my writing is getting sluggish. Each time I do, I realise how much I still have to learn.
Of all the “How to” books I have read, this is the one I have found most useful.
I hope I have made myself clear.
Thanks for reading.
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