E-Prime and Other Forms of Exclusion

[† Emotional Outlet]

I just finished reading World of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by David Gerrold, and while more enjoyable than the similarly titled How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Card, it didn't offer me much in the way of useful advice I haven't heard already. (As an aside, anyone who thinks sex scenes embarrassing to read and write probably shouldn't write sex scenes at all, but what do I know.)

Anyway, he mentioned an interesting concept called E-Prime. E-Prime involves keeping out all forms of "to be" from your writing, including contractions and informal words such as "ain't", in an effort to clarify and strengthen one's writing.

I find it an interesting concept, and it certainly requires some thought on how to rephrase sentences to convey the intended meaning without using the verboten words. It reminds me a bit of Taboo and the kind of lateral thinking one needs to employ in order to win the game.

On the other hand, I find it a bit... pretentious, perhaps? When a person purposely avoids all forms of "to be", it starts to seem more like a gimmick or a parlour trick--especially given the immediate parallels drawn between E-Prime and a board game. I don't know if it actually creates clearer text, if it serves the purpose assigned to it. Gerrold mentions in his book when he told people about his books written in E-Prime, a lot of people didn't care or notice at all.

Another form of word exclusion involves the word "that"--many say the word serves no purpose, adding little to no value to a text, instead potentially muddling the message rather than clarifying it. And, of course, there exists other words and types of words people ask writers to avoid--adverbs especially experience a lot of bad press, as well as the word "very".

What do you all think of this process of exclusion? Do you find it strengthens your writing, or do you find it more frustrating than anything else?

(PS: I tried to write this in E-Prime.)