Note: I know I told you a few weeks ago I was done publishing every Wednesday. But I’ve accidentally had a lot of decent ideas lately, so I’m taking advantage of them while they’re flowing, so to speak. I promise, eventually I’ll follow through and disappoint you.
“That’s what good writing is for. The point of good writing is not simply to be good — to tickle something. It's to make digesting important ideas easier, deeper, or more enjoyable. Good prose, therefore, is not just a beautiful thing; it's a vehicle for carrying useful information. Bad prose is a bad vehicle that no one wants to ride in. Bad prose is bad at carrying ideas. Which is why being a good writer is not just an option but a requirement.”
I couldn't agree more. My favorite articles/essays/books are those about complex topics written in a way understandable to anyone. Substacker Conor Mac once described Morgan Housel's writing in the following way but I found it universally true to all great writing:
"You often find that the more straightforward the writing appears, the more effort the author has expensed in acquiring the knowledge to articulate it in such a simple fashion. It’s one thing to be intelligent enough to understand something complex, and another to be able to translate it to the layman."
Beautifully summarized.
“That’s what good writing is for. The point of good writing is not simply to be good — to tickle something. It's to make digesting important ideas easier, deeper, or more enjoyable. Good prose, therefore, is not just a beautiful thing; it's a vehicle for carrying useful information. Bad prose is a bad vehicle that no one wants to ride in. Bad prose is bad at carrying ideas. Which is why being a good writer is not just an option but a requirement.”
I couldn't agree more. My favorite articles/essays/books are those about complex topics written in a way understandable to anyone. Substacker Conor Mac once described Morgan Housel's writing in the following way but I found it universally true to all great writing:
"You often find that the more straightforward the writing appears, the more effort the author has expensed in acquiring the knowledge to articulate it in such a simple fashion. It’s one thing to be intelligent enough to understand something complex, and another to be able to translate it to the layman."