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But one can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails.and:
In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them.
and Virginia Woolf could describe "one's" reaction to a dying moth:
It was superb this last protest, and so frantic that he succeeded at last in righting himself. One's sympathies, of course, were all on the side of life.
Many people consider Orwell and Woolf excellent stylists, but sometimes
they can get a little stodgy. In fact, "one" can make any writer look a little
stodgy and feels oldfashioned. [Notice that when Virginia
Woolf says "One's sympathies," she really means "My sympathies.] (If you're
used to avoiding "I," you're probably using a lot of "one"'s in your writing.)
I'd rather see people avoid "one" if they can--or use it sparingly. And if they
end up using "one" a lot, they may, simply be writing bloodless, general stuff
that has no personal vision.