Apparently, his writing style was learned in his first years as a
professor as a result of much pracitce. In "Mills at Maryland," William
Form had this to say about Mills' acquisition of the craft: "Yet
[Carl S.] Joslyn [Mills' department chair at Maryland] importantly
influenced Mills. Mills wrote a paper that he circulated prior to
the faculty seminar. When we discussed it, Joslyn raised several
points for clarification. Mills was mystified by the questions because
he thought he had made his points clearly. When Mills asked Joslyn
why he did not uderstand the text, Joslyn replied that Mills's writing
was awkward, unclear, needlessly abstract, and difficult to follow.
Somewhat shaken, Mills quickly recovered and unabashedly said, 'I want
to become a good writer. I almost have an orgasm when I read a beautiful
sentence. Teach me to write.' Joslyn agreed, but thought Mills
didn't really mean it. However, Mills persisted and Joslyn tore into
the manuscripts. Mills's writing quickly improved. The contrast
in writing style between his pre-1943 articles and dissertation and later
pieces is striking."
Form, William. 1995. "Mills at Maryland." American
Sociologist, Fall 95, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p40, 28p, 2bw