March 2021

I try to write using ordinary words and simple sentences.

That kind of writing is easier to read, and the easier something is to read, the more deeply readers will engage with it.

The less energy they expend on your prose, the more they'll have left for your ideas.

And the further they'll read.

Most readers' energy tends to flag part way through an article or essay.

If the friction of reading is low enough, more keep going till the end.

I try to write using ordinary words and simple sentences. The easier something is to read, the more deeply readers engage, and the more energy they have for your ideas.

And the further they read: lower the friction and more reach the end.

I try to write using ordinary words and simple sentences. The easier something is to read, the more deeply readers engage and the further they get before their energy flags.

There's an Italian dish called saltimbocca, which means "leap into the mouth."

My goal when writing might be called saltintesta: the ideas leap into your head and you barely notice the words that got them there.

It's too much to hope that writing could ever be pure ideas.

You might not even want it to be.

But for most writers, most of the time, that's the goal to aim for.

The gap between most writing and pure ideas is not filled with poetry.

There's a dish called saltimbocca, "leap into the mouth." My goal might be saltintesta: the ideas leap into your head and you barely notice the words. That's the goal to aim for.

The gap between most writing and pure ideas is not filled with poetry.

There's a dish called saltimbocca, "leap into the mouth." My goal might be saltintesta: the ideas leap into your head and you barely notice the words. Pure ideas is too much to hope for, but it's the goal to aim for.

Plus it's more considerate to write simply.

When you write in a fancy way to impress people, you're making them do extra work just so you can seem cool.

It's like trailing a long train behind you that readers have to carry.

And remember, if you're writing in English, that a lot of your readers won't be native English speakers.

Their understanding of ideas may be way ahead of their understanding of English.

So you can't assume that writing about a difficult topic means you can use difficult words.

It's also more considerate. Writing fancy makes readers do extra work just so you can seem cool — like a long train they have to carry.

It's more considerate to write simply. Fancy writing makes readers do extra work so you can seem cool — like a long train they have to carry. And many readers aren't native English speakers: a difficult topic doesn't license difficult words.

Of course, fancy writing doesn't just conceal ideas.

It can also conceal the lack of them.

That's why some people write that way, to conceal the fact that they have nothing to say.

Whereas writing simply keeps you honest. If you say nothing simply, it will be obvious to everyone, including you.

Fancy writing conceals not just ideas but the lack of them — which is why some people use it.

Whereas writing simply keeps you honest. If you say nothing simply, it will be obvious to everyone, including you.

Fancy writing conceals not just ideas but the lack of them — that's why some people use it. Writing simply keeps you honest: if you say nothing simply, it's obvious to everyone, including you.

Simple writing also lasts better.

People reading your stuff in the future will be in much the same position as people from other countries reading it today.

The culture and the language will have changed.

It's not vain to care about that, any more than it's vain for a woodworker to build a chair to last.

Indeed, lasting is not merely an accidental quality of chairs, or writing.

It's a sign you did a good job.

It also lasts better: future readers are like foreign readers today, once the culture and language have changed. Caring isn't vain, any more than for a woodworker building a chair to last.

Lasting isn't an accidental quality of chairs, or writing. It's a sign you did a good job.

Simple writing lasts better — future readers are like foreign readers today, once the culture and language have changed. Caring about that isn't vain, any more than for a woodworker building a chair to last.

But although these are all real advantages of writing simply, none of them are why I do it.

The main reason I write simply is that it offends me not to.

When I write a sentence that seems too complicated, or that uses unnecessarily intellectual words, it doesn't seem fancy to me.

It seems clumsy.

There are of course times when you want to use a complicated sentence or fancy word for effect.

But you should never do it by accident.

But none of these is why I do it. The real reason is that it offends me not to: a needlessly complicated sentence doesn't seem fancy to me. It seems clumsy.

These are all real advantages, but none is why I do it. I write simply because it offends me not to — a too-complicated sentence doesn't seem fancy, it seems clumsy. There are times you want a fancy word for effect, but never by accident.

The other reason my writing ends up being simple is the way I do it.

I write the first draft fast, then spend days editing it, trying to get everything just right.

Much of this editing is cutting, and that makes simple writing even simpler.

The other reason is how I work: I draft fast, then spend days editing. Much of that editing is cutting, which makes simple writing simpler.

The other reason is how I do it: I write the first draft fast, then spend days editing — and much of that editing is cutting, which makes simple writing even simpler.