Writing Tip #2
with Pete's language as an example
Is Pete’s “We can’t only talk to those who already agree with us,” the same as We should talk with those who disagree with us?
My writing tip #2: Say what you mean and mean what you say. Be affirmative.
Write in the positive. Instead of “The Hurricanes did not win the game,” write, “The Hurricanes lost the game.” As an unlikely example of this principle, consider “The Hoosiers did not not win the game.” That’s true but “The Hoosiers won the game” is much better. William Zinsser emphasizes brevity. Five words is better than seven.
In Chapter 2, “Simplicity,” of Zinsser’s On Writing Well, the author says, “Our national tendency is to inflate and thereby sound important. But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.”
Avoiding “not” may also lead to increase in vocabulary. Is there a single word other than “full” for “not hungry”?
This is also a reading tip. Watch out for the “sound important” purposeful manipulation of language.
When we see that, “We can’t only talk to those who already agree with us,” (Pete Buttigieg, fundraising text, January 31, 2026) becomes, “We can only talk to those who already disagree with us,” we see more clearly that the word “only” assumes an unproven condition. Perhaps the writer might see that the sentiment being expressed would better be conveyed with the the word “should” and without the word “only.”
“We should talk with those who disagree with us.”
Is there a hidden intention in the way the sentiment was expressed originally? What unproven idea is conveyed with use of the phrase “not only”? Is there an assumed target? Has Pete engaged the “straw man” fallacy? Perhaps as critical readers we see that the intention of the writer is less than straightforward. Some people, unidentified, are only speaking to people with whom they agree? Who are they? I’m not that, he says. What is he?
This will be an issue for Pete in his run for the Presidency. Is he able to deal with tough issues like Gaza and ICE and the voice of a more progressive majority in the Democratic Party? Should he simply make his case as the candidate of moderation?
Say what you mean and mean what you say. Be affirmative.
I emphasized the practical in my 27 years teaching English at New Prairie High School, New Carlisle, Indiana. Summer school students and I one year identified four characteristics of good writing: Clear, honest, interesting, and appropriate. My favorite source was On Writing Well by William Zinsser.