How to write well.

Good writing is hard because finding good ideas is hard.

Good ideas are novel, credible and relevant.

Novel ideas are often unpopular ideas. Novelty is easy, but novel and credible is hard. Credible ideas come from critical independent thinkers thinking about a topic for a long time. Think critically to notice faults in existing ideas. Assess independently to propose an alternative.

As a general rule, write about unpopular ideas that you think is true.

My previous article was “Don’t be a nice person .” It grabs attention. It brings an unpopular perspective. I’ve backed it with logical explanations which makes it somewhat credible. It could be better, but it has done pretty well so far.

Good ideas are relevant . The reader cares about the ideas. This implies that the quality of writing is relative to the reader. An audience will not appreciate an irrelevant article.

We don’t have to care much about this. A consistently insightful writer will eventually find their audience.

The best ideas are completely unique, have credible arguments and is relevant to a lot of people. Satisfy this and we get Einstein’s general relativity.

Essays that are easily understandable have exceptional clarity.

Use simple words and phrases . Instead of “empirical feedback” use “feedback”. It focuses readers on the ideas being conveyed rather than the meaning of the words.

Write succinctly and directly . Break down long sentences into shorter ones. Instead of “just so I could”, write “because”. Avoid putting multiple ideas in a sentence. If a word isn’t necessary, cut it. Most adjectives and adverbs can be cut from writing. Write “happy” instead of “very happy.”

Create visual hierarchy . Use bold to highlight important points. Section different ideas using sub headers. Use quotes and differentiate them from sentences. Use visual cues to inform the reader on what is important.

Use active voice. We comprehend “the man drove the car” better than “the car was driven by the man”. Put the object (man) first then the action (drove).

There is more to writing that I have yet to learn. However, these principles have helped me write better. I hope they will help you too.

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MarvelG

Twitter: @mgomulya1 | Email: mgomulya@berkeley.edu

medium.com/@marvelgomulya