Will Rogers and the Shoemaker’s Kids

By Roy Williams - Feb 28 , 2008

Will Rogers, that most famous of Oklahomans, was once asked if he could speak for five minutes at a luncheon.

“No problem,” said Will, “when do you need me to do it?”

“Tomorrow at noon,” came the happy reply.

“Gosh, I’m sorry, but it would take me at least a week to prepare a 5-minute speech.”

“A week!” gasped his friend, “How long would it take you to prepare a 2-hour speech?”

“Heck,” smiled Rogers, “I’m ready to talk for 2 hours right now.”

Readers are often astounded to learn that it takes, on average, between 12 and 20 hours to conceptualize, research, write, edit and re-edit a single one of these little messages.

Perhaps the winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature, Thomas Mann, said it best when he said, “A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” Writers cannot allow themselves the luxury of saying what easily comes to mind. This is because they know the words that come most quickly to their own mind are also the ones most likely to be perceived as ‘predictable’ by the reader.

To say the most in the fewest words is excruciatingly difficult. But it’s the heart and soul of powerful communication.

Are you guilty of saying things in the easiest and most predictable way?

Here’s a good example of a colorful writer using unusual combinations of unpredictable words to describe a group of interesting and carefree people:

They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’ — Jack Kerouac

Do you take language seriously, or do you take it for granted?