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paragraph shows two examples of acceptable literary theft. The first is Miller’s line, which the paragraph is about. The other is the paragraph itself. It’s the opening paragraph for an article I wrote in Writer’s Digest (April 1983) called “Do Editor’s Steal?” I stole it from myself.
     

9. Stop Writing When You Get to the End
     
    A novel ends when your hero has solved his problem.
     
    An opinion piece ends when your opinion has been expressed.
     
    An instructional memo ends when the reader has been instructed.
     
    When you have done what you came to do, stop. Do not linger at the door saying good-bye sixteen times.
     
    How do you know when you have finished? Look at the last sentence and ask yourself, “What does the reader lose if I cross it out?” If the answer is “nothing” or “I don’t know,” then cross it out. Do the same thing with the next to last sentence, and so forth. When you get to the sentence that you must have, read it out loud. Is it a good closing sentence? Does it sound final? Is it pleasant to the ear? Does it leave the reader in the mood you intended? If so, you are done. If not, rewrite it so that it does. Then stop writing.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Ten Ways to Develop Style
     
    1. Think About Style
    2. Listen to What You Write
    3. Mimic Spoken Language
    4. Vary Sentence Length
    5. Vary Sentence Construction
    6. Write Complete Sentences
    7. Show, Don’t Tell
    8. Keep Related Words Together
    9. Use Parallel Construction
    10. Don’t Force a Personal Style

1. Think About Style
     
    In any discussion of writing, the word style means the way in which an idea is expressed, not the idea itself. Style is form, not content. A reader usually picks up a story because of content but too often puts it down because of style.
     
    There is no subject that cannot be made fascinating by a well-informed and competent writer. And there is no subject that cannot be quickly turned into a literary sleeping pill by an incompetent writer.
     
    You probably would not buy Ray Bradbury’s book Dandelion Wine (Doubleday) if while browsing in the bookstore you turned to the version on the left (A). Contrast it with the version on the right (B), Bradbury’s actual opening paragraph. You will see that while both paragraphs contain the same information, the version on the right has style, and that makes all the difference.
     

2. Listen to What You Write
     
    Writing is not a visual art any more than composing music is a visual art.
     
    To write is to create music. The words you write make sounds, and when those sounds are in harmony, the writing will work.
     
    So think of your writing as music. Your story might sound like the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, or it might sound like “Satisfaction.” You decide. But give it unity. It should not sound like a musical battle between the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and the Rolling Stones.
     
    Read aloud what you write and listen to its music. Listen for dissonance. Listen for the beat. Listen for gaps where the music leaps from sound to sound instead of flowing as it should. Listen for sour notes. Is this word a little sharp, is that one a bit flat? Listen for instruments that don’t blend well. Is there an electric guitar shrieking amid the whispers of flutes and violins? Imagine the sound of each word as an object falling onto the eardrum. Does it make a soft landing like the word ripple, or does it land hard and dig in like inexorable ? Does it cut off all sound for an instant, like brutal, or does it massage the reader’s ear, like melodious ?
     
    There are no good sounds or bad sounds, just as there are no good notes or bad notes in music. It is the way in which you combine them that can make the writing succeed or fail. It’s the music that matters.
     

3. Mimic Spoken Language
     
    Writing should be conversational. That does not mean that your writing should be an exact duplicate of speech; it should not. Your writing should convey to the reader a