Be Simple” my teacher used to say: A Simple Insight into Simple Writing.
Be it in class during an exam, or late at night sitting cross legged in front of my laptop, thinking, brainstorming, or editing a novel, I’d hear the voice of my teacher in the back of head telling me to:
Be Simple.
Now when you identify yourself as a writer, that might be something that you’d be very concerned about. However, it turns out that there are few common scenarios that all of us go through regardless of our profession or interests when it comes to writing, and which I can sum them up into this: Writing has never been a random thing to do.
As a writer, I have learned that the hard way.
When I first started on this journey, I thought that it was all about putting my ideas into words, without any prior preparation for it. As a result, I didn’t worry about things such as structure, not out of arrogance, but because it was the very thing I was trying to escape.
<A structure, a rule , an instruction, a law, we have many words to say “how things should be done”, but only one word that expresses what we truly want from these things: Freedom.>
The First “Slap”
My plan of writing without boundaries, without a plan, didn’t last for long. This was the first problem that I have ever faced in what was supposed to be a breather from life and its responsibilities.
How am I going to write now?
Many potential story ideas filled my head. I had a lot to say, to write, but I didn’t know how to say it.
So I took a hiatus from writing.
The Second “Slap”
When we care about something and we want to do well in it, it takes us more than failing once to give up on it. With that mindset, I have decided to pick up my writing journey.
“Be Simple”
I still didn’t know what that meant, but I was set on figuring it out.
Eventually, it took me time to understand what my teacher wanted to mean by simplicity in writing, and more time to apply that to my writing. It took me; however, years to apply that to my life.
So what is simplicity?
and, how do we measure that in writing?
While defining simplicity might be subjective to the person doing the writing, I have come to realize that there are 3 things that measure simplicity in your writing:
1- Quality over quantity:
The first golden rule about simplicity is that you don’t say too much or too little, but just enough to deliver your message in the words that most speak to you. In other words, with every draft that you dismiss, chances are very high that you might either have said too much, or you didn’t express your idea enough for it to be clear to you as a reader, let alone to other readers, which is something you probably don’t want as a student, as a career person, let alone as a writer. Being simple is being clear, and while you could still play with words for some effect, you don’t want to ruin your work for the sake of an artistic temptation.
2- Short Sentences, and pauses:
Long or, and run-on sentences are probably the most ineffective way to achieve simplicity in your writing. However, knowing when and where to put punctuation and avoiding long sentences is not the secret sauce for a simple writing; there are always exceptions. In order to better elaborate on this point, I would like to bring the emotions and the “state of mind of the writer” to the table; when we feel tired, or restless to finish writing our manuscript, or when we write something that we relate directly to,which feels personal, we may feel overwhelmed by our own writing. For instance, be it we try to be forward with our writing, or we try to trick ourselves into submitting the perfect writing, words are more likely to deceive us than to fulfill efficiency in writing.
As a result, since you also don’t want your writing to come off as “square”, as much as it is important to know when to pause and use long sentences in your writing, the way to submit a piece of writing that best answers your purpose of writing should be natural to you as the one submitting it, intrigue you as a reader, and be free of anything that might seem complicated to you to process.
If you struggle with understanding your own writing, how do you expect readers to do that with ease? As a writer, you are responsible of what and how you formulate your message, and it is your duty to be keep your writing as much as ambiguity free as possible!
The last thing, and probably the most obvious one that shows in a simple writing, and makes it much more easy for readers to understand and relate to, is this:
3- An Outline:
Think back when you were a student, or if you are a student reading this article, then I invite you to think of all those times your teacher said something like “Don’t forget to write an outline”. While this may come off as bad news to younger me, or to the spontaneous hidden artist inside me, that teacher were not bluffing.
Personally, the best way to achieve a simple writing is to have an outline, and I may not be the only one who thinks so. In the world of writing, it seems that there are two categories of writers: the ones who write with an outline of their story, those are the ones who know the end to their story (Outliners), and the other ones who “see where it takes them” (namely; Pansters), but that still doesn’t make them messy or irresponsible! Regardless of your writing style, it is almost mandatory to have a vision of your piece before you put it into paper.
In fact, an outline not only makes it easier to organize the plethora of ideas that come up in the brainstorming stage, it also makes you more aware of your writing and gives you more control over that flood of ideas. In other words, an outline is the perfect recipe to ensure a coherent and a structured piece of writing that you can be confident about! (and it gives you extra points for your writing!)
Coming back to where I was talking about writing without boundaries, a major misconception I had about writing with a plan was that it took away my privilege of creativity. I couldn’t be more wrong! While writing with an outline did give off that impression, it seemed that writing without one was even more confusing and complicated.
So where is the creativity in writing?
Of course, I have become convinced that it wasn’t writing as randomly as I had thought, but it has sure proved itself as a core question I had to contemplate, and dig further into from then on.
Thank you for reading my article! I wish you good luck in your writing journey!
