The Beginner’s Guide to Simplifying Your Writing
Say more with less
We can all agree that the writer’s journey is a lonely one. Creating compelling content can be daunting and challenging. We revise iteratively. Putting thoughts into words and stringing them together coherently, over and over — it’s no simple task.
New writers must remember that writing should be easy to understand and read.
If you found this article, you may want to become a writer.
A significant function of being a writer is your ideas — what you bring to the table; it’s the inspiration you feel from a spark of creativity.
But, to be an extraordinary writer, you must stop concentrating on those ideas, just for a moment.
First, you must look to the writing mechanism: the tool that brings your ideas to life. In some ways, the sentence is the most straightforward component of writing yet the most complex to master.
It does not matter what genre or type of writer you want to become; you need to simplify your writing so it’s easier for your reader to get the message in each sentence you write.
We do not write just to inform, persuade, or entertain our audiences; we write to write. In other words, your role as a writer is to compose sentences. Your words become more valuable as soon as you learn to say more with less.
Want to improve your writing? You’ll be able to expand your writing potential by incorporating just three simple writing strategies into your work.
Use Short Sentences
The first thing you do is reduce the length of your sentences. This will help you reduce the number of words you use, making it easier to understand what you are saying. In school, we learn to flex our vocabulary and extend the lengths of our sentences to sound like experts, even when we’re clearly not.
Some may say that an author naturally has a way with words. In reality, writing is a remarkably unnatural thing to do.
You must unlearn writing in long sentences from your early education.
As you write your sentence, say your sentence aloud. Does it sound relaxed? Like you’re speaking with a friend? We tend to complicate our writing in ways that we don’t with our speech. Write like how you speak, and you’ll realize how much shorter you can make your sentences.
You can observe this process. Hit return after each sentence. Soon you’ll notice the length of your sentences. Some will be uncomfortably long, so you’ll shorten them. Try removing words, one by one, until only the necessary language remains.
As a start, challenge yourself to keep your sentences to 10 words or less. If you are writing a blog post or an article, use the word count feature in your writing software to ensure you stay within the limit.
As soon as you master the art of short sentences, only then is it wise to begin forming longer ones. After all, excellent, lengthy sentences are merely small sentences stitched together.
Perceive Composition as Revision
We teach children the writing process as a series of steps. First, prewrite, then draft. Next, revisions, edits, and publishing. What’s wrong with this?
Think about it; our first goal in writing should not be producing a subpar version of our final product. When we perceive composition as revision and vice versa, we detach from the structure of the sentence itself and focus on what we are trying to convey.
Once you create a sentence, it is difficult to restructure the words to change the meaning. Ensuring you get the meaning right the first time is essential.
Begin to think of words as optional unless required. Don’t focus on the language; focus on the thought. Ask yourself: what am I trying to communicate? Then, remove every unnecessary word from that thought. You’re on the right track if you can convey your idea with the fewest words possible.
Soon, you’ll be able to write on the spot without worrying about changing a sentence’s structure and meaning later. When composition and revision are the same processes, your sentence is powerful from conception.
Kill Your Transitions
It’s common for writers to use transition words to signal to readers that a change is occurring. Transition words may be distracting and unnecessary if used too frequently.
Transitions serve no purpose but to move the reader from point A to point B. They draw attention to themselves and can destroy any sense of flow in the prose.
The age-old notion that we must guide readers through a text is one reason why too many transitions are disadvantageous. Good writing does not require hand-holding because it conveys meaning effectively.
When you write, you are trying to say something. Everyone will likely understand your message, without transitions, if your message is clear. Reading your work aloud is an excellent idea to see whether you’ve used too many.
Summing Up
If you want to improve your writing, you have to practice it. The best way to do that is to write, write, and write some more.
By focusing on the process of writing, you will notice where you write well and where you need to work on your craft.
Simplifying your writing doesn’t mean removing all the words. It means using the right words when you need them. Overusing certain words or phrases can diminish their impact and sometimes make your writing appear inexperienced.
When you’re done with your work, re-read it aloud and remove some transition words. Also, look for words that don’t necessarily need to be there because they are simply fillers.
Learn to write short and simple sentences. Keep doing this until you no longer see the need for transitions or filler vocabulary. As you master this process, you’ll naturally gravitate towards longer and more complex sentences.
The necessary tools to simplify and polish your writing are available to you. All you need to do is learn to use them.
If you’d like to learn more, check out:
Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg.
