When I Met My Muse

When I Met My Muse
I glanced at her and took my glasses
off—they were still singing.
They buzzed like a locust on the coffee table
and then ceased.
Her voice belled forth, and the sunlight bent.
I felt the ceiling arch,
and knew that nails up there
took a new grip on whatever they touched.
"I am your own way of looking at things,"
she said.
"When you allow me to live with you,
everyglance at the world around you will be
a sort of salvation." And I took her hand.

—William Stafford

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William Safire

Do not put statements in the negative form.And don't start sentences with a conjunction.If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that agreat deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.De-accession euphemisms.If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

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