BY CHIP MINEMYER
Budding journalists are often advised to keep it tight, that a concise story is the path to clarity and success.
Those up-and-coming writers are instructed to ditch the adverbs – that someone isn’t “very excited,” simply “excited.”
They’re told that crisp dialogue, short sentences and simple noun-verb action make for good writing.
The great mystery writer Robert Parker truly understood.
Parker was the master of the fast-paced narrative. Most of his more than 60 novels could be read – and enjoyed – in an evening.
The prolific writer died suddenly on Jan. 18, leaving behind a string of compelling stories.
In a recent interview with MysteryNet, Parker called himself “the great economist. I don’t waste much in the way of language.”
That’s a lesson most of us who dare to put words together should embrace.
I often find myself re-strained by the space allotted for my weekly ramblings. Is that because I have a lot to say? Not really. Rather, it means I’m probably not very good at the craft.
We give our Readers’ Forum contributors a word limit – for various reasons.
If we didn’t, we would never be able to fit in all of the letters we receive. That might mean someone’s viewpoint would be silenced – a contradiction with what the Editorial page is all about.
And – let’s be honest – anything worth saying can be said in 250 words, despite the contrary views of many of our Readers’ Forum writers.
What is the most famous speech ever given by a president of the United States?
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
And that eulogy to the battlefield dead and rallying cry to a weary nation was just 269 words long.
In 1959, author E.B. White (“Stuart Little,” “Charlotte’s Web”) updated “The Elements of Style” – first written in 1918 by Cornell University professor William Strunk. Indeed, now the names Strunk and White appear on every worthwhile college journalism or English syllabus.
The authors believed that writing tight was the key to writing well. White called Strunk’s original text a “43-page summation of the case for cleanliness, accuracy, and brevity in the use of English.” Later editions had swelled to 85 pages, still allowing for the physical example of “shorter is better” – along with the numerous strategies for producing clean, crisp copy.
Under the heading “Omit needless words,” Strunk and White remind writers: “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, and paragraph no unnecessary sentences.”
Parker turned that admonishment into a noteworthy and lucrative career.
Even if you’ve never pulled one of his bestsellers from the shelves of the local library or a book store, you may have seen his characters in other media.
The detective “Spenser” was the inspiration for the 1980s TV series “Spenser: For Hire,” starring actor Robert Urich.
His troubled police chief Jesse Stone was brought to life by actor Tom Selleck in a series of TV movies, most recently “Thin Ice” in late 2009.
And Parker’s foray into westerns landed “Appaloosa” – from his 2005 book – on the silver screen in 2008. The film version of “Appaloosa” starred Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Renée Zellweger. Parker wrote two sequel books – “Resolution” and “Brimstone.”
Another Jesse Stone novel – “Split Image” – is scheduled for a Feb. 23 release. Another in the “Appaloosa” series – “Blue-Eyed Devil” – is due in May.
You can bet those books won’t contain one unnecessary syllable.
All of Parker’s books have celebrated – in the words of the hilarious butler Hobson from the movie “Arthur” – “a great economy of words.”
To quote Strunk and White, Parker could write so that “every word tell.”
Which, as you can see, I struggle with repeatedly.
Parker said: “It is probably what I do best – say a lot in a little. Put the most meaning in the fewest words.”
Amen.
Farewell, Robert.
Your time with us – unlike your writing style – was far too short.
Chip Minemyer is the editor of The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5091.
