How To/Write Well

George Orwell
- https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit
- “It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”
- Bad habits
  - “Dying metaphors” avoid obsolete overused phrases
  - “Operators or verbal false limbs” use simple verbs
  - “Pretentious diction” avoid foreign words
  - “Meaningless words” words that can read based on what you want to
- “What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? And he will probably ask himself two more: Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly”
- Abstruse phrases are used to name things without creating mental pictures, allowing them to hazily float by
- “Let the meaning choose the word”
- Write to create clarity in the reader’s mind.
From Amazon
- https://twitter.com/destraynor/status/1258372157706510336/photo/1
- Less than 30 words per sentence
- Replace adjectives with data
- Eliminate weasel words
- Should anyone care?
- Reply with Yes/No/Number/I don’t know
- Avoid jargon & acronyms, explain them the first time they appear
Dilbert
- https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/06/the_day_you_bec.html
- Business writing is about clarity and persuasion
- Keep things simple
- Short sentences with one thought
- The first sentence should grab the reader
- Brains understand active voice more easily
Coursera (University of Michigan) notes
- Writing