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 a great 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.

At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.

No one flower can ever symbolize this nation. America is a bouquet.

Writers who used to show off their erudition no longer sing in the bare ruined choir of the media.

English is a stretch language; one size fits all.

I could get a better education interviewing John Steinbeck than talking to an English professor about novels.

A reader ought to be able to hold it and become familiar with its organized contents and make it a mind's manageable companion.