Good writing is good because of what words are not there rather than what words are. Here are ten ways to create useful words resulting in good writing.
1. Keep sentences short
2. Prefer the simple to the complex
3. Prefer the familiar word
4. Avoid unnecessary words
5. Use active verbs
6. Write the way you speak
7. Use terms your reader can picture
8. Tie in with your reader’s experience
9. Make full use of variety
10. Write to express, not to impress
Along with these ten principles are a couple of other concise ways to think while writing:
Long as necessary
short as possible
short as possible
- Emphasize what is of key importance.
- De-emphasize what is of secondary importance.
- Eliminate what is of no importance.
1. Precise information
2. Logically linked
