Everyone talks about simple, clear, and effective writing.
Yet so many people, including those who preach the way of simplicity, hardly ever write ‘simply’.
Why is that?
Well, for one, I’m guessing, many people have this image of ‘A writer’ as someone capable of writing this elaborate, literary, almost heaven-like, prose that shall be remembered for decades, if not centuries.
Just look at one of the most prominent figures in English literature, even to those who don’t know anything about literature at all, Shakespeare. Nobody ever said, “Oh I just love how simple, clear, and effective Shakespeare’s writing is!”
It’s almost always the beautiful poetry-like prose that gets quoted, remembered, and revered in everyday circles.
Or at least, that’s what most people think…
After all, we still highly revere and remember the writing of Ernest Hemingway who wrote simple prose, almost too simple on some occasions. Just look at this little gem:
“He came to the river. The river was there.”
Now, isn’t that just wonderful?
I don’t know about you, but I love that type of writing. People often overcomplicate literature and its prose. See, most people couldn’t care less about the literary merits, the outstanding poetic prose, or even the grammatical correctness of a novel. Instead all they care about is being told an entertaining story, something that will fascinate them for hours in a way that almost makes them forget they’re reading a story, all while they’re passing time on their way to work, on a flight, in the waiting room at the dentist, or even when just for winding down at the end of the day while getting ready to go to sleep.
Good writing, fiction or non-fiction alike, engages people.
That’s all it has to do.
And more often than not, simple and effective writing is the way to go about it.
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