Quote:
Originally Posted by RedHeadGal
A recent conversation with a colleague went something like this:
Him: "When I edit your work, I'm making it better, not just making stylistic changes."
Me: "But I don't agree you are making it better. You fill it with these affectations I would never write. You do things like bury the subjects of sentences behind long introductory phrases."
Him: "You may be talking about good writing in other fields. This is legal writing."
Is this just a generational problem? In my mind, good writing transcends the professional field. Why do some professions or genres of writing become so firmly entrenched in certain styles and affectations that people who have been using them for years become convinced that their writing is "good" just because the rhetorical style matches the rhetorical style that has been used before?
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I think all lawyers except for Archaea are insecure about what they charge and thus feel the need to "lawyer-up" their writing to impress their non-lawyer clients.
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I see a hobo. And when I see the hobo, I think to myself, "This man is poor. His monetary value is low, and my monetary value is high, and it's a shame that he is himself. What can I do?"
Last edited by landpoke; 12-18-2008 at 06:46 PM.
Reason: No point in beating around the bush.
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