[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

It's actually really easy to understand, and probably a lot of fun to nerd out on.

There's a reason for that, but first...

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I am not going to deride them as "idiots" because I have seen worse, and these are nice people who actually brought up the fact that they don't understand. What I am interested is how to explain "complex" topics in "simple" terms but not oversimplifying them that it overgeneralises.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Then it brings forward the issue of "being cruel on the reader".

(1) Respect your audience
One of the first rules of journalism (and the hardest to enforce, because it relies heavily on experience and judgment) is to serve the reader, not your ego.

Are you writing to impress or to serve? Are you trying to help people understand? Have you managed to join the dots so that others can see the bigger picture? There is no such thing as an audience that is too dumb to understand your message. There is only a failure in storytelling.

A senior colleague, one of the founding editors of this country's best-selling tabloid, advised me: Tell it like you'd tell it to Grandma.

If you can't, you've failed.

So, with regard to subjects like "O-rings", or arguments that invoke Latinus ad nauseum, ask yourself: Is the detail really necessary? Does the information help answer the 5Ws and 1H (who, when, where, what, why and how)?

If it doesn't, you've failed.


(2) I see...
Now, back to e e cummings. His avant-garde poetry somehow makes sense because of his subversive use of visual cues. Just as Lewis Carroll provides contextual clues to help readers make sense out of nonsense, cummings employs syntax and punctuation to help forge meaning out of empty space.

The next time you flip through a newspaper, magazine or website, pay attention to the design. Observe how text is interspersed with photos and graphics. Think about the choice of typography and the use of colours. Do the visual elements help to make the page come alive? Or do they repel you so much that you can't bear to take a second look?

We have slang terms for poor design, like "wall of text" or "tl;dr". Yet, we still somehow manage to drown readers in a sea of grey.

Avoid it when you can.


There is another kind of visual communication that is separate from design, and that is to write as though you are painting with words. You achieve this through skilful use of adjectives, similes, metaphors and analogy.

Lately, I realised that it's also about being able to freeze an image in my mind. I've interviewed someone. Did he look happy or sad? Was the venue gritty or bright? How do I set my observations to text, without editorialisng?

Just remember one cardinal rule: Keep it concrete.

Abstraction is for the artists (and the loony).


(3) Read it aloud
Words are meant to be spoken.

You've written your essay. Congratulations!

Now, try reading it aloud.

If you find yourself losing your breath, rewrite.

"Keep it clear, keep it simple, keep it short."

I could just have easily written:
"Keep it short, keep it clear, keep it simple."

Why didn't I? Read it aloud.

Technically, consonance, assonance, rhythm and meter are at work.

But you don't need to read notation to hear music.

Just play it by ear. Good sound is always good.