The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

So, a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to take 5 pages of my novel to a critique session. It was a little bit different from previous sessions I had participated in, but it was a little refreshing too. I had never had any critiquing-type of contact with any of the members in my group. I picked 5 pages that were a pretty important scene in my story, but was right in the middle of the book. When I handed the group my pages for them to read, they had absolutely no background, no character development, and no story line. As one group member mentioned to me, it was kind of nice because then they had to critique my writing "based solely on its own merits." It was nice, actually, because their involvement with the story (before and after this scene) did not color their judgments. And it was a unanimous concensus: show more; tell less. Now, as I have admitted before, I am wordy, but I am trying to focus better on capturing my scenes in my writing. This critique grou

This is a plea for basic simplicity in writing. Too many authors think that using trendy buzzwords, inflated language, and complex constructions make them better writers. (This is particularly true in the academic world.) I believe that just the opposite is true. Instead, I respect the authors who can make a difficult topic, situation, or emotional response understandable to the reader. Anyone can look up a bunch of words and find a way to fit them into their writing. But very few can find understandable words to express complex ideas. Those are the real geniuses. Now I'm not saying that everything should be written as "See Dick. See Jane. See Dick and Jane run." But I am saying that your content should come a long ways before your ego.