Pleasurable to many is thought evoking language and words never heard in the past. So how does one advance to the level by which they can form them?
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4Practice, practice, and more practice are key to getting better.– user11111111111Mar 12, 2021 at 15:39
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4This is a comment on your questions in general, not just this one. Sometimes, simpler is better. I hope that one day you will learn to write straightforward sentences. Good luck!– DM_with_secretsMar 12, 2021 at 18:07
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2Reading, reading, and more reading. ;) And read books by contemporary authors. If you can find the kind of books you're thinking of. If not, it may be worth considering why... (But then again, there's always the Nobel prize) ;)– ErkMar 15, 2021 at 0:40
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3 Answers
Pleasurable to many is thought evoking language and words never heard in the past.
Is it though?
I mean, I would prefer reading a story with words I am familiar with. Yes, thought-evoking language is great, but it would also be nice to read a crisp, straightforward sentence (this may vary by genre).
So how does one advance to the level by which they can form them?
If you insist on writing like that, the key is to practice. Study your inspirations, ask for help, whatever.
Just keep writing until you've got it down...
...and then keep writing more.
answered Mar 12, 2021 at 19:45
For one, you must read much; second, you must think about what you have read; third, journal or write about the ideas or emotions or other sensations experienced in the books you studied and then wrestle with those experiences by asking questions. In short, study study study. And study as though you were a literature student or whatever subject you care deeply for. That’s how you get started, but the rest is up to you.
First learn to write simply, but flawlessly, only then try to include more flourish and fancier stylistic forms. A mistake in a well-thought-out but simply written text will be overlooked or forgiven. A mistake in a text that strikes tones of profoundness turns it into a mockery of itself - the higher you soar, the harder you fall. You can't get away with 'good enough' - nothing short of perfection works, so first learn to write plainly but perfectly, only then try for fancy. No unintended connotations and silly second meanings, no ambiguous pronouns that could be applied to the wrong subject, no metaphors that taken literally evoke ridicule, no garden path sentences that disrupt the flow, no grammar mistakes, and above all no abuse of obscure words if you aren't sure both of their fundamental meaning and their more hidden connotations.
On a different note - wrapping pleonasms into an airy aura of importance may fool some fools, but will only show you as the fool to the wise. You should read a lot and learn to tell hollow flourishes apart from masterful use of stylistic forms. It's exceptionally easy to cross the line from profound into pompous, and from deep into pretentious. It's no accident why the adjective form 'Pathos' is 'pathetic'. So - adapt your language to the subject matter and make sure what you want to say is worth listening to for what it is, not just how it sounds.
Well, unless you use it on purpose - with the proper tongue-in-cheek approach. I once wrote the invitations to a Baroque-themed costume party. The over-the-top platitudes, the false humility bordering on groveling, the good tidings way over the top were all deliberate and done in humorous spirit parodying the silliest of fashions of the period, all of it as good fun. If this sort of invitation was addressed to an audience of a serious formal event like a scientific conference, it would be beyond baffling for the addressees, probably making them believe the host is mocking them.
