Favorite Authors 1: George Orwell

The first author to have a significant impact on me was George Orwell. Naturally, the first two books I had read from him were "Animal Farm" and "1984" while I was in junior high school. I loved "1984" so much that I wanted to read his other books. "Down and Out in Paris and London", "Keep The Aspidistra Flying", "Coming Up for Air", these novels opened up new windows for me, lead me to so many greater things. I also loved his non-fiction work, "Homage to Catalonia", "The Road to Wigan Pier", and his essays, particularly "Politics and The English Language" which offered these tips for writers:

• 1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
• 2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
• 3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• 4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
• 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
• 6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

If you only read his two most well known books, I would highly recommend that you read the others. Not only are they educational but are superbly written. To me, hands down, one of the best writers of all time.