"Easy reading is damn hard writing."
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Writing is the art and science of finding exactly the right words to say what has to be
said -- as quickly.
clearly and elegantly, as possible.
Maybe those words are published on a Web page and read by people around the world. Maybe they are printed in an annual report for a specialized audience. Or, maybe they are the narrative in a video or slide show. Words are at the heart of communications.
Stating what (later becomes) obvious
On this page, I present a selection of observations on wordsmithing, which I hope will be useful to some. Most are short, and many of the points they make are obvious. At least, they are obvious after the fact, and when the communications team is not desperate to churn out a newsletter, a Web site or an annual report on a too-short deadline.
A never ending process
As I think of new observations or learn better ways to write, I will add to these notes. Please take these notes, not as earnest injunctions but simply as good-natured observations about the challenges of communications we all face.
The first rule of writing
The First Rule of writing: there's no point in writing it, if no-one can read it. Okay, most people don't write in hieroglyphics. But some may as well, because what they write is so inaccessible that would-be readers are stopped dead in their tracks.Read more
"Was that one red pill twice a day, or two red pills once a day?
Patients often have to rely on written instructions about how to prepare for a procedure, care for themselves after surgery or take medication. Instructions that are vague, confusing or written in technical language are not only examples of poor writing. They are downright dangerous. The remedy? Keep it simple!Read more
