Simplicity is the Mother of Great pieces of work

Before I can discuss Why simplicity is the mother of great pieces of work, I have a question for you:

Do you know why children’s writers often turn out to be famous and celebrated?

Let me single out one Ronald Dahl who happens to be one of my favourite. His stories were mostly intended for children. But he stands out and some of his books have been turned into movies. Why? Is it because his writing was contrived in a complex way? No.

The answer—

SIMPLICITY.

His style is simple and easy to follow. Read one of his books if you do not believe me.

Is it not true that you enjoy stories that are easy to follow? Is it not true that most of the books you put away are the ones that are…

COMPLEX AND HARD TO FOLLOW?

Yeah.

Why the heck should you read a book when your head aches in the process? Why the heck would you bother to read a book when you get nothing after reading several pages?

“But,” you may argue, “aren’t there some complex works that people love still?”

And to prove your point, you may cite Shakespeare.

True, Shakespeare has moved a goodly amount of souls, but his most of his works are anything but easy….

But will it surprise you if I tell you that of Shakespeares works, the ones I love are the ones I can understand and interpret?

Ahem….

Some complex writings have indeed gained some popularity. But is it not due to the fact that they have been analysed and interpreted for us by some clever guys?

Believe me, none of these works could ever mean anything to us if they can’t be interpreted nor understood.

A good number of my fellow countrymen and women know little of Shakespeare, save that he wrote a lot of complex stuff. Perhaps it is because Shakespeare is hardly analysed in Zambian Schools.

So in the end, the works that rock are the ones that display…

SIMPLICITY, and nothing but….

Artfully contrived simplicity.

There are a good number of would-be wirters who believe that to be a good writer means to be able to employ big Dictionary words and complex expressions.

Wrong, wrong, WRONG!

Tthat is totally wrong.

Good writers are those whose writing can be understood, and thus appreciated.

If your writing is ambiguous because of the overuse of uneccessary and complex words, you are far from a good writer. In fact, you have a lot to learn. You have to learn the art of…

WRITING SIMPLY.

Learn to write clearly and concisely.

Learn to write with SIMPLICITY.

“But what if I am writing for a highly educated audience? Shouldn’t my writing be complex?”

My answer?

Nope. It should be simple to your target audience.

Say you are writing a book for doctors. You’d employ language peculiar to that profession; words complex to us but understandable to them; language they can easily follow.

It is nearly as easy to confuse a highly educated audience as it is a less educated one. So don’t do it just because you can!

Even highly educated people will single out the books that they can easily understand and follow.

So you see, even for the higly educated…

SIMPLICITY ROCKS!

What? What was that you said?

“For crying out loud, we do need to spice up our writing with a few complex terms and expressions.”

Of course! I am not saying you can’t use a few complex terms.

Complex, impressive terms should be used to spice up your writing. You should use them in discreet amounts, just like you use salt. Too much and your writing will be unpalatable! People will even begin to think that you are proud and mean.

But the use of complex terms is not only what complicates writing. Bad grammar, overuse of passive voice and overuse of colloquialism, to mention just a few.

So to write simply, you’ll need that grammar book of yours.

I cannot help mentioning that I do love sprinkling my works with a few complex terms, but only because I know they can be understood, and that my readers won’t be confused beyond redemption.

So always remember this important rule:

SIMPLICITY ROCKS.

And also this one:

SIMPLICITY IS THE MOTHER OF GREAT PIECES OF WRITING.

Here are a few tips to help you write clearly: