5 Principles of Brilliant Writing

Summary:
Easy reading is damn hard writing. Good writing is clear, simple, grammatical, direct, and concise.




When I was 9, my school selected me to attend a conference for young authors. I felt special:

I must be a pretty good writer.

But with my school days long behind me now, whenever I read something I wrote years ago, my reaction is usually one of sobering incredulity:

This sucks! When I wrote this I thought I was a good writer!

It reminds me that writing well is hard work. But it’s a noble pursuit and a lifelong process.

A recent study shows how communication drives results: companies that communicate effectively had a 47 percent higher return to shareholders.

We can all do our part to help ourselves and our organizations to communicate better.

Lately I’ve been studying:

1. Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (a quick read at 87 pages); and
2. Arguably the most authoritative reference on grammar, style, and usage: Garner’s Modern American Usage.¹ At 875 pages, Garner’s opus is as extensive as it is accessible: It’s easy to find what you’re looking for and it’s a joy to read.

On my journey toward becoming a better communicator I’ve learned that good writing consists of 5 things: Good writing is clear, simple, grammatical, direct, and concise.




1. Clear is Classy

Clear writing is classy writing. Transparent, uncluttered prose is elegant, stylish, and is always in vogue. There’s a correlation between class and manner of communication:

As a general rule, the higher the culture, the simpler the style and the plainer the speech. ~Richard Grant White, a Shakespearean scholar.

Sometimes, in an attempt to look intelligent and sophisticated, we make our writing more complex by:

• Writing longer sentences.
• Adding too many clauses.
• Using fancier words. 

Ironically though, the simpler we can explain something, the smarter we seem.

Consider Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He writes his letters to shareholders in a plain manner, using folksy anecdotes to explain difficult business concepts.

The result?

More people read his annual report than that of any other company. Bill Gates declared that he’s learned more about business from Buffett than anyone else. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric and named “Manager of the Century” by Time magazine, described Buffett as “the smartest guy in any room.”

Clear writing is nourished by cultivating a deep sympathy for your readers. When revising your work, ask:

• Can concepts be expressed more simply?
• Which examples best illustrate my points?




2. Simple is Sexy

Albert Einstein said that ideas should be expressed as simple as possible but not simpler, and that the essentials of science can be discussed in language comprehensible to everyone.

And if Stephen Hawking can explain to laypersons how time travel is possible via black holes, then surely the rest of us can write about our subjects in a simple way.

The problem is that many writers believe that they look smarter when they state ideas in a more complex manner. But shouldn’t professionals be allowed to express themselves in more complex, sophisticated ways than nonprofessionals do?

Garner has 4 reasons for answering no:

1. A difficult writing style is unclear not only to readers, but to the writer herself. Because writing reflects thinking, if your thinking is obscure your prose will be, too. And you’ll be less likely to appreciate the problems that are buried under such convoluted prose.
2. Obscure writing wastes readers’ time.
3. Simplifying is a higher intellectual attainment than complexifying. Writing simply and directly is hard work.
4. Professionalism demands that writers not conspire against non-specialists by adopting a style that makes their writing seem like a suffocating fog.

It’s generally better to use standard words than fancy ones. In the previous sentence I used the word “use” rather than “utilize.” But writers use “utilize” and other impressive-sounding words because everyone knows that the key to being profound and scholarly is to use as many big words as possible.²

Avoid pompous, inflated language such as the following:

A cop reports that:

• he found marijuana when he detected it by inhalation (he smelled it).
• He then apprehended the individual (he arrested him).
• If the citizen believes he’s been wrongfully accused and unfairly treated, his lawyer might then institute legal proceedings against the police (sue the police).

A doctor explains that:

• a patient is being given positive-pressure ventilatory support (the patient is on a ventilator.)

A pilot announces in midflight:

• “We’re about to traverse an area of instability, so I’ve illuminated the fasten seatbelts sign.”
• An anxious, bewildered passenger then asks what’s happening, and the flight attendant assures her, “We’re about to go through some choppy air, so please fasten your seatbelt.”

The assault on plain language is rampant in our offices, in our streets, and even in our skies. Help spread the cure. Be a beacon of simplicity.

3. Grammar is Godly

Studying grammar in school was boring; I felt it a waste of time:

I already know how to write.

But when I began reading Garner and writers such as David Foster Wallace, I saw that they had a lucid structure to their sentences, a fluency with syntax, and a felicity with language that allowed them to write with beauty and power.

Good grammar alone does not separate bad writers from great ones, and the study of grammar won’t transform us into literary geniuses (how I wish it did!).

But good books on writing can make learning grammar fun and rewarding. With about every hour I’ve studied grammar, it’s prompted me to rewrite something. My new grammatical power feels good! I can immediately apply it.

Grammar is no longer a dry subject for me, but a living thing that helps me breathe clarity into thoughts that were choking on confusing punctuation and garbled syntax.

If you doubt the importance of grammar, just read YouTube comments. Here’s one comment (and it’s not even the most egregious one) from today’s most-watched video:

the whole time I was like…that person with the dough roller is going to bonk him on the head, then when they all left I was like aww then WHAM!!! WOOT WOOT lol

Maybe the author was trying to say:

I expected the cook to use the rolling pin to bonk the chef on the head. When the cooks left the kitchen I sighed, ‘Aw, this is boring–’ Wham! Payback time!

Or consider this email I received from a well-spoken, university-educated person, whose writing isn’t worthy of him:

Lol. well we beat them four years ago so I was very certain twas gunna happen again this year.

Email is sometimes informal, so I won’t nitpick about LOL or the lack of capitalization on the first word of the sentence. But in one sentence alone I see three problems:

1. the adverb very is a redundant modifier of the adjective certain. Either you are certain or you are not certain. Very certain = certain.
2. twas should be written as ’twas. Yet the contraction ’twas isn’t a much shorter or much faster way of writing it was, so why use the contraction, anyway?
3. gunna isn’t a word. He meant gonna, which is slang for going to. If you’re gonna use slang, use correct slang.³

For many writers, studying grammar is the fastest way to improve their writing. Maybe intelligent life hasn’t contacted our planet because of something we wrote:




4. Direct is Divine

Direct writing involves 3 things:

1. Use the active voice:
“I will always remember my first trip to New York” is more vigorous than the passive, “My first visit to New York will always be remembered by me.”

2. Put statements in positive form:
“She is not very often on time” is an indefinite and evasive statement compared with, “She is usually late.”

“She did not think that studying Latin was a sensible way to use one’s time” is tame and vague compared with, “She thought the study of Latin a waste of time.”

3. Use definite, specific, concrete language:

Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract. ~Elements of Style

“A period of unfavorable weather set in” is imprecise compared with, “It rained every day for a week.”




5. Concise is Cogent

Omit needless words. Verbosity will vex your readers. Writing doesn’t always have to be short, but it should be succinct.

Avoid using the verbal excess in commerce that Garner calls commercialese: the jargon common in business correspondence, such as these “mind-numbing wads of verbiage:”

• enclosed please find
• in the amount of
• pursuant to your request
• regarding the matter
• thanking you in advance
• please be advised
• regret to inform
• we are pleased to note
• it is with great interest

These wordy, hackneyed, trite expressions (and I’m guilty of having used them all), should be omitted or replaced with normal language that isn’t puffed-up. I received an email that combined several of these hollow pleasantries:

Thank you for your email of November 4, 2008. Regarding the matter, please be advised that we now have an update. However, we regret to inform you of the following information:…

That’s 30 words describing nothing. The author is painstakingly polite but I’m becoming impatient; I just want my question answered.

And these formalities are often pasted into the introduction of every form letter, so I question the sincerity, anyway.

If the writer had called me instead, would she begin with this much stalling? On the phone, she would probably get to the point more quickly. If you wouldn’t say it to a customer, don’t write it to a customer.

There is an idea that commercial jargon is appropriate — even expected — in business writing. But:

Nothing harms business more than a system of words used only in business letters. ~Sherwin Cody

I’ve saved the best (or worst) for last; cover letters:

It is with great interest that I read your advertised position for an Account Manager. From my attached resume, you will note that my extensive skills are a suitable match for the position’s requirements.

34 words. Translation: “Your Account Manager job matches my interests and skills.” 9 words.

I would kindly appreciate an opportunity to meet with you at your earliest convenience.

14 words. Translation: “Can I buy you a coffee?” 6 words.

Here are 6 resources that will improve your writing.

What tips have helped you write better? Please comment below.

1. The fame of the author — Bryan Garner — is such that his books sell more copies when his name is in the book’s title. [↩]
2. I’m definitely being sarcastic. [↩]
3. My critique might be too pedantic. But the point is that my friend’s writing does not do justice to his intelligence. It would be a shame if people misjudged him due to his poor writing. [↩]

Tagged as: Bryan Garner, grammar, Roger Ebert, Strunk and White, style, usage, Writing