“In time of war language always dwindles, vocabulary is lost; and we live in a century of war. When I took my elder daughter’s tenth-grade vocabulary cards up to the school from which she had graduated, less than a decade after she had left, the present tenth-grade students knew almost none of them. 
“. . . We think because we have words, not the other way around. The more words we have, the better able we are to think conceptually . . . We cannot Name or be Named without language. If our vocabulary dwindles to a few shopworn words, we are setting ourselves up for takeover by a dictator. When language becomes exhausted, our freedom dwindles—we cannot think; we do not recognize danger; injustice strikes us as no more than ‘the way things are.'” From Walking on Water, by Madeleine L’Engle
“Hey there.”
“Hey.”
“Whassup?”
“Nothin’. You?”
“Saw the new Captain America. Dude. Ya gotta see it!”
“Was it amazing?”
“Totally. Special effects were awesome. You’ll freak.”
“Really? Sounds awesome. Gotta check it out.”
“Yeah, it was amazing.”
“Cool. Maybe Friday.”
“Awesome. Do it.”
The above conversation could have taken place in a school parking lot or texted from a phone (though with a text, there would have been several spelling abbreviations like ‘u gotta c it!’). I’ll admit, I’m guilty of such everyday slang—pretty much every day. Just because I’m a writer doesn’t mean I speak with proper English 24/7 (see?). Gotta go with the flow, right? #YOLO. LOL 🙂
Seriously, there are times for casual conversation as well as occasions to speak in complete sentences, using proper grammar, with verbose descriptions. The problem—that seems to be spreading like Swine Flu—is that few circles expect or enforce the latter. The above quote from ML’E perfectly illustrates the growing trend in schools, on the internet, and with literature in general.
The new Common Core curriculum now being adopted by most states is a great example of the continual dumbing down of America. Frankly, what ML’E warns about seems to be unfolding in our time: “if our vocabulary dwindles to a few shopworn words, we are setting ourselves up for takeover by a dictator. When language becomes exhausted, our freedom dwindles—we cannot think; we do not recognize danger; injustice strikes us as no more than ‘the way things are.” Anyone else find this to be a disturbing trend?
Though this isn’t meant to be a rant against the Common Core, I can’t help but use this new educational experiment as an example that ties right in with this particular post. A recent article about the problems with this curriculum from The Heritage Foundation stated, “A diminished emphasis on literature in the secondary grades makes it unlikely that American students will study a meaningful range of culturally and historically significant literary works before graduation. It also prevents students from acquiring a rich understanding and use of the English language. Perhaps of greatest concern, it may lead to a decreased capacity for analytical thinking.”[Emphasis mine].
Hmmm, sounds like ML’E shared these exact concerns—and we should be troubled by this shift as well . . . especially those of us that value the power of words and embrace a future of continued freedom to express ourselves.
To bring this around to a personal level, I’ve learned how this ‘sound byte’ society has an affect on writing and on the publishing world in general. Like most fantasy writers, I love the classic works of Lewis and Tolkien. Their rich, descriptive language has withstood generations and inspired epic films. However, if a writer tries to write with a similar flourish in today’s market, they’re going to be told to shorten descriptions, edit their sentences to be ‘tight,’ and leave lots of white space on the page.
Yeah, that’s one of the most shocking and ironic lessons I learned early on (thankfully) in my novel endeavor: readers need white space!
Um, excuse me, am I not writing a book for people that want to read? Aren’t books a collection of words? Aren’t we cheapening the reader’s purchase by giving them less content for their dollar?
Yes to all of the above. It is believed that’s what readers want because that’s what sells. Well, maybe that’s all we offer readers in today’s market and so that’s what sells by default?
It is shockingly sad to imagine Lewis or Tolkien trying to get their novels published in the modern market. Grant it, there are always exceptions. But usually those exceptions are allowed for the established elite. If either of the aforementioned Inklings wanted to get their foot in the door with their lengthy paragraphs and (shudder!) ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’ . . . oh, let’s not even go there! What a travesty that would be.
As much as I’d like to think it’s a problem with the publishing industry, I know better. Art imitates life and life has become viral . . . a playground for webonics, video snippets, sound bytes, abbreviations, catch-phrases, and more. Everything is vying for our attention in the briefest way possible. Consumers demand whitespace.
Sad day. (Though it is encouraging that Lewis and Tolkien are household, beloved names).
Well, should we writers cave in to the times and allow superfluous words to go the way of landline telephones? Do we dig our heels in the sand and form unions around our love for lengthy, archaic descriptions? Should we picket in front of major publishing houses with signs like, “DOWN WITH WHITE SPACE!”?
Nah, none of that would change a thing. We must make individual decisions to be a revolutionary voice among the masses. One at a time we can provide great story, great content, or even meaningful status updates on a Facebook post. We must endeavor to learn our craft well and find the balance of giving readers what they want (white space?) within the trappings of exceptional skill, and rich, appropriate content. By appropriate I mean that we write within the bounds of our genre without cheapening it.
My novel The Tethered World is a fantasy set in modern times with a teenage protagonist. It would be inappropriate and awkward for her to speak in a grammatically correct way. If she didn’t use some slang and cut corners in her conversations, it would not be believable. However, that doesn’t mean she isn’t sharp-witted, insightful, and able to convey her narrative (the story is in first person) with a compelling use of words . . . even when descriptions are kept ‘tight.’
As a Christian, there’s another layer that I, the writer, am responsible for: content that reflects more than what’s on the surface. It can be a delicate dance. I don’t want to be preachy. I’m not going to come right out and say the “churchy” sort of sentiments, no way. But I can strive to speak words of beauty and life, even in the dark moments. I can (by God’s grace and wisdom) strive to show there’s hope, there’s light, there’s more . . . more to the fiction story that’s unsaid . . . more to real life for the reader to experience.
Yes, with all the voices and content that screams, “OVER HERE! PICK ME!” it can be tempting to do whatever it takes to yank some of that attention towards our corner of the writing realm. Stand with me, fellow writer, and count the cost of doing it well!
Beautifully flawed characters, intriguing plots, precise writing, varied sentence and word structure, subplots, and layered meanings . . . those are a lot of plates to keep spinning! But the pursuit of excellence in writing is not only a reward for ourselves, but it’s what we owe our readers. We should not contribute to the dumbing down of society and the headlong mash up mediocrity and relativism.
“When language becomes exhausted, our freedom dwindles,” asserts ML’E.
Would you agree? What are the trends that you find alarming? Do you have a battle plan?
I do hope that many will join the fight to keep us from losing the rich world of good literature. May there be parents who require more than the Common Core for their children. May there be teachers who inspire more from their students. There must be a balance between embracing change and preserving that which holds great value. Creativity is a part of our Image bearing. Think what we would lose in our spiritual lives if we neglect it.
Amen! Sadly many parents haven’t read the classics either and probably don’t understand the need.
Amen, amen, amen. The first writing group I attended was so heavy on the rules, and so little on the content that I almost brought some of Tolkien’s work just to prove that the rules didn’t guarantee good writing. What I’ve learned since is that the rules are important because you can’t break them in a mind blowing creative way if you don’t know them.
I think we’re pretty much in the same camp as far as trying not to be preachy and having all those beautiful wonderful layers. I too deplore excessive white space. I would rather have rich, deep, long paragraphs then short ones.
This is the joy and bane of self publishing, in my opinion. The joy is that we can try it ourselves even if the publishing world says not to and see if there’s a market there for our stories. The bane is that it is so easy to be published that most of what is out there is just awful. It lacks maturity, light and darkness, hope, battles, agony, love. I’ll have to tell you about the book I just picked up. I might even read some of it at our next writing group. It’s just horrible.
Sorry to be slow in responding. I didn’t want to respond from my phone and then life took over!
Yes, what you pointed out is the bittersweet truth of self-publishing. And as much as I’d like to think that some really great self-published books will help redeem the reputation of this enterprise, the fact is you still have just as many awful stories being published that way, tainting the industry for everyone on an ongoing basis.
I do believe good writers can be a gem among the rubble, but I think it will take longer for readers to sift through and find the gems, and I don’t know how patient they are for such an endeavor.
Certainly a decision that must be made with much prayer!
Much wisdom, much prayer, and as I’ve been reminded to day by a dear mutual friend, trusting our Gift to God and his timing and working.
Amen!