How to Write Easy-to-Read Content Even Your Cat Will Enjoy

Place your ideas at the beginning of each sentence

The Game

Balls-to-the-wall words, enticing leads, and an ideas-up-front approach will keep your work readable.

Written content is not as digestible as video or audio and clumsy phrasing will put off even those who are curious.

Some people tend to start their posts with barely-relevant stories, junking-up their sentences with modifiers and qualifiers before they get to the point. This makes our work harder to understand. Nobody has time for content puzzles these days.

Remember: The message is more important than flexing with vocabulary. Write for your reader, not for yourself. You’re in the same ring as Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, and all the other easy-to-digest platforms — your content must be equally accessible.

One more thing

Around 30 million people in the US have trouble with basic reading and writing tasks, a NAAL study discovered. Close to 14% of the American adults can’t read above grade seven. And what about the number of people that just don’t enjoy reading? Take them all into account.

You not only have to compete with easy-to-digest platforms — your art also has to reach the population that can barely read.

The following approach helped me connect with a broader audience. Medium curators noticed my work and I reached top writer status in Art and Entrepreneurship. I’ve got a publisher for short stories and my second novel is in the editing phase.

Balls-to-the-Wall Stuff

You’re not the queen of England. Your readers are not vasals. Even though I consider you all kings and queens, you’re in the content business.

If you want to get through to the modern reader, don’t use vocabulary that’s hard to discern even with the royal dictionary. Don’t put together frankenwords. Don’t use elitist words. Don’t complicate. Don’t “utilize” where you can “use.”

Don’t circumscribe if you yearn for a conflagration. “Wait, what?” My point exactly. Don’t squirt if you want to spark a fire.

You can express everything in simple English — online content needs simplicity, so channel your inner Hemingway.

Straight Shootin’ Lead

I don’t mind stories, but I appreciate it when the author can sum up the post in one sentence.

“The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead.” — William Zinsser, On Writing Well

No one wants a dead article.

If you start a story with a peculiarity that is loosely connected to the article, and you’re not J. K. Rowling, I might drop the article. I’m an avid reader. What would one of those 30 million illiterate Americans do?

You don’t want a reader to remember you for bad writing. That person might never open any of your work ever again. Second chances rarely happen in the content world.

How to write a descriptive lead

Sum up the whole story in one sentence and hint at the broader context.

Non-fiction articles don’t need a scene-setting lead or prose — unless it’s about writing prose. In every other case, it’s redundant.

I don’t like searching for the main idea through a wall of rubble.

News does this pretty well. If you’re writing a how-to article, answer “what” and “how.” If you’re reporting something, consider the “five Ws” (who, what, why, when, and where.)

Examples of two great leads

“The president is dead.” — News after the assassination of JFK.

This lead is short, shocking, and straight to the point. It doesn’t include the color of the sky or the most popular dress that summer. I’m interested in reading more. The next lead is perfect.

“A 17-year-old boy chased his pet squirrel up a tree in Washington Square Park yesterday afternoon, touching off a series of incidents in which 22 persons were arrested and eight persons, including five policemen, were injured.’ — Mark Hawthorne, 1986.

Touchdown. The five W’s are answered in a spectacular way. The question of how lingers. I know what happened, but I’m eager to find out more.

Structure your leads to be enticing and descriptive. Practice writing leads with some of your old articles. Write one sentence to envelop the whole idea.

Ideas Up Front

Every sentence should start in a reader-friendly way. An easy formula will do just that. Taking an ideas-up-front approach will buff up lousy writing and make it more appealing. A good book is still art and a bit of luck.

Your goal is to encourage the reader to read. First impressions matter in writing the same way they matter at parties. Remember that every sentence makes a first impression. Don’t try to salvage your reputation later — impress from the start.

Compass formula to write:

Subject(the actor) + Verb(the action) + the rest= easy-to-read.

Qualifiers and Modifiers should come after the subject and verb when possible.

Let’s look at some examples. This is not a fun sentence:

According to the National good boi’ committee, there are 30 million dogs that love their humans.

Taking an ideas-up-front approach can fix it.

30 million dogs love their humans, according to the National good boi’ committee.

What do you think? Does the second version read better?

Here are phrases to avoid at the start of the sentence:

• There is a…
• It is [Important, critical, essential, advised, etc.]
• In my opinion…
• The purpose of this article…
• I believe the…
• I think there…
• According to…
• In order to…

Insert these phrases in the middle of the sentence, if you have to.

The Takeaway

Ideas are important. Sharing is caring. Sharing good ideas is essential to a good life.

But no one want’s to unclog pipes with their brains. The world has no time to puzzle out your article.

Straight shootin’ leads, simple words, and an ideas-up-front approach will make your writing concise and easy to digest.

• Simple words: Channel your Hemingway. Don’t say economical, when you can say cheap.
• Lead: Enticing sentence that envelops the whole article.
• Ideas-up-front: Put the most important stuff at the beginning.

Every writing rule can be bent if it serves a higher purpose. You’ll have to determine that yourself.

“Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.” — George Orwell on writing well.

Rules in writing are a slippery slope. They can weed out the bad stuff. But nobody can tell you how to write well.