"Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones..." - Quote by C S Lewis
Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.
More by C S Lewis
More on Writing
“In literature the ambition of the novice is to acquire the literary language; the struggle of the adept is to get rid of it.”
“I write 3-4 days a week, 4-5 hours at a time (with lots of breaks). My goal is 2000 words when I sit down to write and usually, I hit that, though it can take anywhere from 3-7 hours to get there. I usually know the basics of where the story is going, but the specifics just sort of come to me as I write.”
“If a story isn't working, I'm simply unable to finish it. That's what usually tells me something is wrong.”
More on Clarity
“When we really sit back with a smile on our face is when we run into a situation we can understand, where the facts are ascertainable and clear, and the course of action obvious.”
“If you don't know what you want, don't say you never had a chance.”
“Sometimes we are clarified and calmed healthily, as we never were before in our lives, not by an opiate, but by some unconscious obedience to the all-just laws, so that we become like a still lake of purest crystal and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves. . . .”