Aphorisms
An aphorism is one of the most beautifully crafted sentences an author can construct; they are practically written art. A well thought out aphorism provides a piece of life’s wisdom that becomes more clear to understand the more it is read. This is the biggest challenge for people creating them. It is difficult to condense a complex idea or powerful message within the constraints of a single sentence or two. I decided to take up this tough task as I felt I had advice to share. Here’s what I came up with.
The first I created were about the drawbacks of modern education and the inefficiency of standardized tests.
Hastily crammed knowledge is quickly lost like a heavy textbook falling through a plastic bag.
I intended for this aphorism to demonstrate the lack of retention when someone studies a lot of information in one chunk of time.
Good writing tells a story, but good writing paints a picture.
I want people to take away the message that writing can always be improved.
We study what is taught, but do we learn what we study?
This was originally meant as a play on words; it is actually a powerful and thought provoking aphorism that makes readers question he information the learn and why.
Additionally, I wrote about writing. Writing is a process that takes time to get better at. With effort and repetition, you can grow those skills.
The writing process can be a challenge. Sometimes your inspiration feels submerged and drowned. Your words may lack depth or meaning, simply flooding readers in a torrent of useless information. Occasionally, writers block dams creative thought, halting the flow to a trickle. However, given time these barriers will erode away into an open channel. Writing is a ceaseless river.
Words alone have definitions; in sentences, they have meaning.
The best written works were not created; they were revised.
For both of these sentences I used a semicolon between the independent clauses. I wanted to have a more dramatic, but blunt, approach because I feel like it made the meaning of the sentence clear, yet powerful.
Next I made aphorisms about my perception of success and a few principles to follow.
Success is something almost everybody strives towards, and usually it’s connected to power, money and material things. It has several definitions and countless examples though; the path towards it has infinitely more. The principles however, remain the same: hard work, determination and self-control to name a few. All of these take time to understand, practice and master. Therefore, the essential element to success is patience.
Pursue your heart’s passion fully, strong willed and open minded, ad success will follow.
The phrase “strong willed and open minded” is a participial phrase that describes what “fully” means in the sentence. It tells the reader to be ready to face unexpected challenges or to receive unforeseen information that may deter them from their original goal, but also that if their passion holds steadfast they will succeed.
Before success comes perseverance, for failure is a given; to rebound from failure is a choice.
I had this aphorism use a passive voice because it is an idea or concept many people can take, apply and find use from. I used the sentence modifier “before” as well to make “success” a condition and “perseverance” an essential variable to achieve it.