Keep It Simple

🪶 Keep it simple

New writers think fancy words make them look clever. They pile on adjectives, stuff sentences with clauses, and hunt for the longest word in the dictionary. And nobody can understand what they're saying.

In good writing, every word should earn its place. Long words become short words. Complicated sentences become clear ones. If a word doesn't do anything useful, kill it.

That simple writing requires simple thinking. And most people's thoughts are a mess. Politicians hide behind big words because they have nothing real to say. Clear writing exposes everything - there's nowhere to hide bad ideas.

What exactly are you trying to say? If you can't answer that in one sentence, you're not ready to write. When you're done, ask if you actually said what you meant?

Then comes the hard part - cutting out the junk. Anything that doesn't add meaning is junk.

"Face up to" instead of "face." Why use three words when one works?

"Personal acquaintance" - all acquaintances are personal, dummy.

"Currently, at the present time" instead of "now." Corporate types love this stuff.

Nobody needs "utilize" when "use" works fine. Nobody needs "facilitate" when "help" says the same thing.

A clear sentence looks effortless. Writing one takes work.