‘Writing Is Selection’: John McPhee on the Art of Omission

Leaving things out is something a writer learns…

There’s a quote in today’s re-blog that I really like:

“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water.”

Happy reading :-)

Longreads Blog

Writing is selection. Just to...