CHAPTER X

THE WRITING

Write till your ink be dry; and with your tears moist it again. – SHAKESPEARE, Two Gentlemen of Verona.

No general rule can be laid down as to whether men should or should not write their discourses. The question is involved and must find its issue in practice. Volumes have been penned for and against written preparation, but, after all, the obligations of the speaker to the occasion, to the subject, and to himself, must be the determining factors.

Those who adopt the extemporaneous method generally prepare a brief, or outline, of the discourse, to which they may refer during delivery. The preparation of the brief proceeds along the lines suggested in the preceding chapter. The only directions which can. here be given are that the brief should be logical and cumulative in its order, suggestive or "catch" words and sentences should be used, and it should be so clearly set on paper that its divisions will quickly strike the eye. Type-written material is more difficult to read than good manuscript, because the individualities of

personal writing are not there to catch the eye and assist the memory.1

But it is in the actual writing that the personality and worth of the materials must become apparent. A mass of materials is no more a discourse than a pile of stone and lumber is a cathedral. To select, adapt, fit, unify, and beautify materials is the duty alike of the builder and of the orator. It was Pascal who wrote: "In playing tennis both use the same ball, but one places it better than the other. It might be objected that I use current words; as if the same thoughts did not form a different body of discourse by a different arrangement." Here, then, the orator's personality becomes the prime factor. His breadth of knowledgeof rhetoric, logic, human nature, and, indeed, of everything- comes most powerfully into play.

Regarding this actual writing of a discourse some suggestions may be given. The work of organizing the material having so far advanced that a logical outline has been formed in the mind, and a considerable body of notes accumulated, you should commit to paper

1. The Working Outline

Young speakers may find this task both arduous and disappointing faults look so glaring when spread, black on white, before the eye. But for this very

1 Excellent discussions of the preparation and use of the brief will be found in Argumentation, Baker; and in Briefs for Debate, Brookings and Ringwalt.

reason let the beginner take heart of courage and persevere. The glow of final writing must not be depended upon to supply defects of thought structure, any more than an architect may expect paint to remedy the weakness of a truss. This outline will reveal faults in proportion, weak links in the chain of reasoning, and those greatest foes to forceful oratory-cloudy ideas.

Study these wise words of Professor Genung:

"But in truth this learning to plan is the practical way of training the mind into the habit of seeking order; and when the habit is fully formed, the act of planning, which at the beginning seemed arbitrary and mechanical, will resolve itself into the discovery of the natural movement of a thought. Planning must begin awkwardly. It is well for the writer if he sticks to the work until he is at home in it. He may have to work through a period more or less wooden; he may be tempted to odd or fanciful structures of thought; he may at some stage be bitten with the craving for mere ingenuity, · strange if he is not. But gradually he will reach a point where with every subject the vision of a plan will rise before him; he will come to see it, not vaguely, but as an articulated whole; and by and by he can surrender himself to the natural working of his mind, because the artistic, the finely logical, has become nature." 1

As to the manner of tabulating thoughts in the out

1 Working Principles of Rhetoric, pp. 432–433.

line, the scheme of numerals, letters, and underscoring followed in this treatise may prove suggestive.

So much space has been given to the working outline because of its preeminent place in the preparation of all kinds of public address. Now, without entering the field of Rhetoric to discuss the laws of composition, some thoughts may be with profit suggested regarding the next step in composing the discourse.

2. The First Writing

When once pen is set to paper for the full writing of an address, the work of composition should be pressed with fervor, concentration, and rapidity. The audience should always be in the mind's eye, the subject clearly before you, and the object powerfully dominating every sentence, so that each succeeding passage may become increasingly an instrument to transfer your state of mind and feeling to your auditors. This is not to say that the object of the discourse must always stand out consciously. Sometimes it will simply pervade the mind while you write, a fire in your bones kindling thought and word, a power which drives you forward to expression, with irresistible energy. This motive must first possess you before it can possess your hearers. You must yield yourself to its sweep and swell as a strong swimmer yields to the rising of the waves; and yet, as does he, you must all the while deftly direct your own

course.

This surrender to the dominating spirit of the theme it is which will enable you to write in a glow, or at least, to write yourself into a glow. In such a mood do not strive too ardently for exactness. fice all to fire and movement the coldly critical hour of

For the time, sacri

reserve correction for

3. The Final Revision

This must intervene between writing and delivery if you value correctness. But it is a duty that must be approached with a quite judicial impartiality, the mind alert to discover errors and remorseless to cut out passages, however attractive, which are not absolutely necessary. Before attempting this revision it would be well for young speakers to re-read some digest of rules, such as appears on pages 100-108 of this volume. But steer clear of the error of polishing the edge off of your discourse. "Some people," says Cowper, "are more nice than wise." Better that your style should limp than that your discourse should lack vitality — but good style and vitality are one. Do not revise the snap out of your discourse. Make your words hit the mind with the impact of a bullet. Rules should be your servants, not your masters.