Confusing your readers 
There’s nothing worse than prose that confuses. Good non-fiction writing is supposed to explain, clarify, entertain, and educated. The same can be said for fiction, too, I assume. But sometimes writing just confuses readers.
This post looks at the ways in which you can confuse your readers. Chances are you’ve read examples of writing like that. You may have even been guilty of it at least once in your career.
Two writers come to mind when I think of confusing prose: Michel Foucault and Buckminster Fuller. Both had some very interesting ideas (Fuller more so in my opinion), but their writing was so dense and convoluted that following their threads of thought became impossible at times.
My advice? When I feel that my writing is becoming long and convoluted, I go back to basics:
- Keep it simple: short, punchy sentences, one idea per paragraph, and short paragraphs.
- No fancy language: keep the terminology simple, and use common words. If jargon does crop up, explain it as clearly as possible.
- Break things up: use bullets and headings to ensure that there’s not just a long flow of text.
- When in doubt, axe it: be ruthless when editing.
How do you handle a situation like this? Feel free to leave a comment.
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