PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 82
As you can see, I have in front of me
a chocolate decadence cake, curled with
chocolate shavings. No matter what I do,
keep your eyes on that cake, because in a
moment, I will write two sentences about
that cake, using exactly the same words, but
in one Randi wouldn't be caught on the
same continent with it; and in the other,
she will eat it all. Same cake! Are you
ready? Okay, here is the first sentence:
Randi loves chocolate cake, but it's
fattening.
Now watch closely: same words, but before
your very eyes, I . . . FLIP! . . . the two
clauses and . . . Voila!:
It's fattening, but Randi loves
chocolate cake.
Same words. Different order. Different
emphasis. Different meaning. The first
sentence says she's watching calories. The
second sentence says she doesn't care;
she's going to enjoy some cake! Amazing,
isn't it? How do I do that?
I stole the idea right out of The
Elements of Style, from those two word
magicians, Strunk and White. It appears as
Rule 18 or Rule 22 (depending on the age of
your copy). Although the book is now over
half a century old, few people know this
secret. But here's the question it answers:
"Do you put the important point of the
sentence at the end or at the beginning?"
A few years ago, I asked that question
to a hundred litigators in Los Angeles.
Ninety-nine voted "at the beginning." I asked
the lone dissenter why he voted for "at the
end." He said, "Because I also write comedy."
(Only in LA do lawyers also write comedy.)
But he was right; it's what makes a joke
funny (or Randi eat the cake): Putting the
important point, the point to be emphasized,
at the end of the sentence will dramatically
improve your writing. Like magic.
Gary's got a new magic act he's debuting with our
readers. But it's no sleight of hand that's wowing the
audience; it's a logical ordering of words that can create
a profound change in the meaning of a sentence. Watch
closely.
If you have questions regarding grammar, usage,
style or any component of writing, please visit my blog at
http://connect.iltanet.org/blogs/randi.mayes and post a
comment. Gary and I will respond, and we'll build a nice
collection of tidbits over time.
