When I write something—a blog post, a magazine article, a tweet—my number one goal is to reach an audience. For the most part, that’s why we all write, isn’t it? We have something to say and we want to share that something with other people.
To reach an audience you need to find the right words. There can be a lot of balls to juggle when you're writing: not only do you need to use the right vocabulary and grammar but you should also be thinking about finding the right tone and the right flow. To be an effective writer, you should be as clear and as concise as possible.
There is an international movement going on right now called the Plain Language Movement. This movement advocates that we all should be writing in a way that is clear and understandable for our particular audience.
Plain language does not mean simple. Plain language means someone can read what you've written and actually understands what it means.
Imagine if cell phone companies, for example, all used plain language in their service agreements—we might actually understand what we’re agreeing to when we click the ‘I agree’ box! And this applies to all writers: lawyers who are developing contracts, governments who are releasing policies, and yes, even writers posting stories on Steemit.
How do I write plainly?
A good piece of writing advice for your steemit posts is to write assuming your reader doesn’t know anything about your topic (but never assume they’re stupid, of course!).
Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying, “if you can’t explain something simply, then you don’t understand it yourself.” Although, I’ve been told he perhaps didn’t actually say this but that’s neither here nor there because, heck, it’s still a gem of a quote.
Write in a way that is clear and focused (so, stop yer ramblin’). If readers get frustrated with your text—if they have to work to understand it—they won't stick around.
Here are four concrete tips you can use to find the right words and cut out the garbage:
Write in drafts. With each new draft focus on a different element. For example: draft one is meant to get all your ideas down on paper. Use draft two to pick out any of the sentences that don’t align with your central theme (remember, in my post How to create content people actually want to read I reminded you to only use one central theme per post). Draft three can be used to pick out redundant words. You get the idea…
Consciously think about your audience. If you are writing for a group of technical experts, you may use different language than if you are writing for a group of beginners, right?. When you consider who are you writing for it helps guide you in your word choices. Always ask yourself: who is my audience and what is my purpose?
Less is more. Look at the sentences in your text: you should have one main idea per sentence (occasionally a secondary idea linking you to the next point is okay). Look for unnecessary information when you’re reviewing your work and cut it from the final draft (pro-tip: an ideal length for the average blog post is around 500 words).
Formatting is your friend. Sometimes words are more understandable when using bullet points or a table. Sometimes a picture will suffice instead of an entire paragraph of text. Breaking up your post makes it more digestible for a reader, which will encourage them to stick with your story! I said it before and I’ll say it again, white space is your friend.
To put it plainly: I know you can do this. Writing in plain language takes practice and I encourage you to keep at it because it will pay off in dividends.
Happy writing :)
