Opinions

Make it easy on yourself

By David Parmer

One of my jobs as a writer is to edit other people's work. I am still surprised how difficult some people make it for themselves when they write. And more importantly, how difficult they make it for the reader.

I'd like to offer you some suggestions for when you have to write. I am tempted to call those suggestions "Three Rules for Easy Writing," but I know how much I hate rules and I suspect that you may feel the same way. So I will call them suggestions. And I can promise you that if you follow these suggestions, the next time you have to write something in whatever language, it will be a lot easier.

The first "non-rule" or suggestion is: Think before you write.

Now you might think that this is a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many people sit down and start writing without any idea where they are going. They have no clear idea of a beginning, a middle and an end. So they just start wandering down the page thinking and writing as they go. The results are usually pretty bad, pretty boring, and not very convincing. The worst case is when somebody is so important that no one will dare to tell them that what they have written is awful.

So what is the solution? Just like taking a trip, you have got to make a plan; you've got to know where you are going, what you want to do and how and where you will end up. Some people use an outline, some note cards, others a diagram called a Mind Map. Whatever you use, make a plan and follow it. That is thinking first, then writing.

The second suggestion is : Know your audience.

This means you have to ask yourself who you are writing for. "Am I writing for teachers, for people inside the company, for customers, for specialists or the general public?" You have to know your audience, and in knowing them you can figure out what they already know, and what you have to say to them and how you can say it. For example, an engineer has to decide if he is writing to other engineers, business people or the general public. In each case he will have to use different language and different levels of information. And you will too. So start off by asking yourself: "Who am I writing to and what do they know?"

And finally, the last suggestion is: Keep it simple.

Many times when people write they feel they have to act important, use big words, write long sentences and impress people. They think this works. It doesn't. Just the opposite is true. Keep most of your sentences short. Use short words. Break up long sentences into a couple of short ones. Make it easy for the reader to understand. So, will you look dumb if you do this? Not at all. Some of the best writing ever in the English language is simple, strong and to the point.

And by the way, if you think before you write and know your audience and keep it simple, you're going to look pretty smart when you write. And that's not bad.

Shukan ST: April 7, 2006

(C) All rights reserved