George Orwell’s Advice to Bloggers

By Jason

8 Jun 2006

OK, so when George Orwell wrote this back in 1946, he didn’t have bloggers in mind. But when writing for the web where people read the first couple of sentences, and you need to give your conclusion first and then supporting info afterwards as clearly as possible, his tips seem very useful indeed.

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

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  1. Comment by brett jordan

    10.11 am on 8 Jun 2006

    Here’s a few others…

    Avoid alliteration. Always.

    Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

    Remember to never split an infinitive.

    Contractions aren’t necessary.

    Never generalise.

    Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

    Be more or less specific.

    Analogies are like feathers on a snake.

    Avoid cliches like the plague.

  2. Comment by Existential Punk

    10.25 am on 8 Jun 2006

    This is all poppy cock to me and way too much info as well as stifling my care-free creativity and stream of consciousness. If it works for you guys, then be my guest. i\’m not going to worry and fret about it.

    P.S. I HATE and LOATHE the codes on this blog b/c it is very DIFFICULT to distinguish between ZERO and the letter O.

  3. Comment by Existential Punk

    10.27 am on 8 Jun 2006

    i think quotes are great and love to use them. Many times they express what i am unable to formulate into words.

    One i would emphasize: Don’t make a comment without explanation and expect everyone understands where you are coming from!

  4. Comment by brett jordan

    10.31 am on 8 Jun 2006

    hi existential punk… is this blog an irony-free zone today?

  5. Comment by Jason

    10.41 am on 8 Jun 2006

    Brett: you’re the best, I love those :-)

  6. Comment by Existential Punk

    11.34 am on 8 Jun 2006

    brett, pray tell, what do you mean by irony-free zone? :)

  7. Comment by Dean Whisnant

    12.29 pm on 8 Jun 2006

    So out of all these “don’t do this or that” tips, I guess it boils down to the only literary means of communication is sarcasm. Orwell truly was a Post-Modern.

    YES!!!!! I’ve found a home!!!

  8. Comment by cephas80

    12.57 pm on 8 Jun 2006

    And, perhaps most importantly…

    …BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.

    (We mustn’t forget that although blogs feel like diaries, the information is being watched and downloaded by many including marketeers, governmental quangos (you might find your opinion being used to support the next gulf war!), your best friend, your worst enemy AND your pastor!)

  9. Comment by Simon

    1.01 pm on 8 Jun 2006

    Existential Punk:

    Its EASY to distinguish between 0’s and O’s if you remember that the code only uses numbers up to 9 (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) and letters up to F (A,B,C,D,E,F)! So if it looks like and O, its the number.

  10. Comment by Jason

    2.01 pm on 8 Jun 2006

    Cephas: scary :-)

    Simon: thanks for making that clear!

  11. Comment by Existential Punk

    6.48 pm on 8 Jun 2006

    Thanks simon, i misread the code thingy. OOPS! I’m GOOFY!!!!

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