독서습관504_설득력 있는 글쓰는 방법_Writing to Persuade_Trish Hall_2019_LIVERIGHT(220102)

도서관 신간 코너를 둘러보다 영어 원서가 몇 권 있는 것을 발견했다. 제목을 보던 중 <Writing to Persuade>이 눈에 들어왔다. 매주 블로그에 책을 읽은 소감이나 남기고 싶은 생각을 정리해서 포스팅하고 있다. 이 글들이 나 외의 다른 사람들에게 도움이 될 수 있고 공유되면 좋겠다는 바렘이 있다. 독자가 몰입해서 읽을 만한 글을 쓰고 싶다는 게 솔직한 심정이다. 그래서 과감하게 책을 빌렸다. 

2022년 새해를 맞아 매월 한 권 정도 영어로 된 원서를 읽으며 감각을 유지하는 것도 좋겠다는 욕심도 있다. 다행히 이 책은 어렵지 않은 짧은 문장으로 되어 있다. 아마도 저자가 다년간 언론사에서 일했기 때문에 독자에게 어떻게 접근해야 하는지 잘 알고 있을 것이다. 동일한 목적의 글도 어떤 단어를 선택하고 어떻게 문장을 구성하냐에 따라 읽는 사람에게 다가오는 느낌이 다르다. 글은 술술 읽혀야 한다. 군더더기를 덜어내야 한다. 저자가 trim, trim, trim이라고 반복해서 강조하는 이유다. 

이 책은 글쓰기에 대한 내용을 기본으로 회사나 학교에서 어떻게 살아야 하는지도 시사하고 있다. 구체적으로는 직장 내에서 많은 회의를 하는데 대부분의 참석자들이 회의 중에 자신의 스마트폰을 만지작거리고 있다. 메일이나 메시지를 하는 사람도 있다. 저자는 상대방과 대화할 때 집중하고 적당한 질문을 통해 듣고 있다는 것을 보여주는 것도 좋다고 한다. 회의를 주도하는 입장에서 상대방이 적극적으로 참여하는 사람은 쉽게 판단할 수 있다. 

또한 좋은 사람들과 어울릴 필요에 대한 부분도 공감된다. 이제 성인이 된 아이들에게 부모로서 좋은 영향력을 주려는 노력을 하고 있다. 이제 아이들은 사회에서 만나는 사람들의 영향을 받게 될 것이다. 야망을 가지고 열심히 노력하며 자신의 삶을 개척해 가는 도전적인 사람들과 만나길 바란다. 

이 책에서 소개한 글쓰기에 대한 추천도서도 기회가 되면 읽어보고 싶다. 한글본도 글쓰기에 대한 좋은 책들이 많지만 가끔은 영어 원서를 통해 기본을 다시 되새겨 보는 것도 좋겠다. 

이하 책에서 인용했다. 

 

 

Prune ruthlessly. Most people use too many words. Trim, trim, trim. Many excellent books have been written on writing techniques, including four of my favorites. <The Elements of Style> by Strunk and White, <On Writing Well> by William Zinsser, <Draft No.4> by John McPhee, and <Bird by Bird> by Anne Lamott. No one has ever learned all there is to learn about writing, so it's worth reading all of these books, and more. To write well, read omnivorously. Those who read constantly tend to write coherently. 

Books took me to cities around the world, into the lives of characters that became more real than the people who surrounded me. (4)

One thought or feeling a day. That's a great exercise for anyone who wants to keep track of observations that can be mined later for longer pieces of fiction or nonfiction. (7)

Never underestimate the influence that friends have on your life. If you choose to hang around with slothful or cranky people who mostly watch television, you're likely to take on their habits. Gail was far more ambitious and positive than I was, and I am certain that her good traits influenced me and in the process made my life easier and more exciting. (13)

No job is worthless if you can mine even one useful skill that will help you later. (15)

Wherever you are, in school or at work, learn from the people around you. There are a variety of approaches to thinking and editing. All have something to offer. Mimic your smartest, most creative colleagues. (30)

Although they don't usually drop their subscriptions because of just one article, subscribers eventually will walk if quality declines. (36)

It's your writing, not your contacts, that will make you successful. (36)

What's your story? (41)

There will always be something you know or feel or observe that others do not. We are all individuals with a singular experience and sensibility. Your writing has to reflect that, whether you are eighteen or eighty, known or unknown. (45)

Because Sam had abused drugs and alcohol, he realized, with the help of a counselor, that his relationship with money was similarly addictive. He wrote that there were no twelve-step programs for money addicts because our culture lauds the addition. (58)

People who asked more questions were better liked by the people they were talking with, especially if they asked follow-up questions that showed they were listening. (69)

 

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Stories have to be narratives about something that happened to someone, with a time, a place, a main character, and some interesting development. More of a problem, Smith says, is that many people don't recognize a good story when they hear one. (114)

(중략) here is a paragraph so filled with insight that reading it and rereading it would be worth your time:
Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century: Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others; Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected; Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it; Refusing to set aside trivial preferences; Neglecting development and refinement of the mind; Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do. (135)

Give your brain time to rest, and you can be your own editor.(150)

The noun op-de, meaning "opposite editorial," originated in 1970 when the Times introduced the Op-Ed page. But today, op-ed is widely used to describe a particular type of short-form persuasive writing. (165)

Just ask. Lots of us hate to ask for anything, so we just don't do it. That's a big mistake. Asking doesn't hurt. Studies show that people underestimate the odds that someone will say yes to a direct request. (192)

 

■ 저자: 트리시 홀 Trish Hall

Trish Hall worked for the New York Times for more than two decades, where she was a reporter and editor before overseeing six feature sections and later leading Op-Ed. She lives in New York City.