The Four Principles of Writing Well | Episode 7
This week I read a book called, ‘On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction’ by William Zinsser. It’s the best book I’ve read all year. He says there are four principles of writing well: “Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.” Whether you’re writing your next email, blog post, or Instagram caption, here are four helpful rules to keep in mind:
Clarity: Clarity is the main goal in writing, the prize to be won. It’s often hard to achieve because most sentences, when first written, have a tendency to come out wrong. You have to work at them! Become an architect. Wordsmith each sentence so that every word serves a distinct purpose.
Simplicity: The disease in American writing is clutter. We use unnecessary and meaningless words. "Verbal blotage," he calls it. The tendency is to inflate and make ourselves sound important… instead, we must strip the language back down so it’s easier to understand. Simplicity is a virtue in writing. It’s not something to be ashamed of. The writing we admire most over the years is writing that has the strength of simplicity.
Brevity: Don’t give the reader anything they don't need. Short words are better than long words. Short sentences are better than long sentences. Most pieces of writing can be cut by 50% without losing their impact.
Humanity: Be yourself. Never write anything that you wouldn’t say comfortably in conversation. Your material is yourself, so trust it and use it. People always ask, “When will I find my style?” Style can’t exist separately from who you are; your style is you. When we say we like a writer’s style, we say we like the person. Writing is hard. Almost everything we do requires us to write well. And if you can write well, you can rule the world. Good writing takes you where you want to go. I hope these principles will help you like they’ve helped me.
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