11 Simple Tips for Writing Well

Good writing is always based on clear thinking, and clear thinking takes work. The writing process is little more than cleaning up your thoughts. The more you untangle the bumps, barbs, and asides from your words, the more effective the message becomes.

Commit to rewriting as a quest for truth. If your writing is unclear, the truth is you don’t understand your own message. You, therefore, are the greatest beneficiary of your own rewriting.

Below are 11 tips for writing well. These are, in my opinion, the key points from William Zinsser’s fantastic book, On Writing Well. This treatise on the craft of writing was written so well it’s fun to read. I even had high school students accidentally forget to stop reading at the end of their assignments.

1. Rewrite everything important. There are no good writers, only good rewriters. Everyone, without exception, must rewrite their work if they want to produce great writing.

2. Bring your humanity. Writing is a personal transaction. No matter the topic, what interests is the human connection between the writer and reader. 

3. Cut clutter. Clutter is the bane of good writing. Remove every unnecessary paragraph, sentence, phrase, word, and even syllable that doesn’t contribute a unique piece of the puzzle. Clutter also results from using unnecessarily complex words when a simpler word suffices. Uncommon words with precise meanings absent in simpler words are legitimate.

4. Be yourself. Authenticity is vital to good writing. If you pretend to be something you are not, a remarkable personal transaction is impossible.

5. Write what you find compelling. Your interest and passion about a topic will automatically excite the reader. How can your readers be interested in your material if you aren’t?

6. Care about words and their subtleties. Language is extremely rich. Writing well requires that you understand both the connotations and denotations of the words you use.

7. Pay attention to context. The same words impact readers differently in context. Personal emails, business emails, magazine articles, web copy, and legal documents carry unique expectations. Be deliberate around them.

8. Think small. Your writing should center around one primary idea only. Identify that one idea, and craft your words around it.

9. Think before you write. You should be able to answer the following questions before you start writing: What one main point do I want to make? In what capacity am I going to address the reader? What pronoun and tense am I going to use? What style? What attitude am I going to take toward the material? How much do I want to cover?

10. Watch your leads and endings. Your lead must be strong and hook the reader. It can be any length as long as it works. The ending should come as soon as you make your point. It will often catch the reader by surprise. Ending with a quotation can be highly effective.

11. Use strong verbs. Verbs are the most powerful part of a sentence. Weak writing tends to repeat the same simple verbs, with nouns and adjectives doing most of the work. Precise nouns and adjectives are important, but strong verbs enliven your writing.

These 11 points are the essence of great writing no matter the format. Most writing today is quick, with shorthand conventions, and doesn’t need to be great. But when it does, you could do a lot worse than to follow Mr. Zinsser’s direction.

“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” – Francis Bacon 1561-1626