Good writing advice #1: Write like you talk

Posted on by

This advice by Paul Graham is pretty much spot on:

Something comes over most people when they start writing. They write in a different language than they’d use if they were talking to a friend. The sentence structure and even the words are different. No one uses “pen” as a verb in spoken English. You’d feel like an idiot using “pen” instead of “write” in a conversation with a friend.

The last straw for me was a sentence I read a couple days ago: “The mercurial Spaniard himself declared: ‘After Altamira, all is decadence.'”

It’s from Neil Oliver’s A History of Ancient Britain. I feel bad making an example of this book, because it’s no worse than lots of others. But just imagine calling Picasso “the mercurial Spaniard” when talking to a friend. Even one sentence of this would raise eyebrows in conversation. And yet people write whole books of it.

Read the rest here.

This entry was posted in Brand Copywriting, Marketing, User Experience and tagged , on by .
Relevant Pages: Content Marketing & Social Media, Copywriting

We'd love to work with you

Get in touch & let’s chat through your project

    Awards & accreditations

    • The Drum Recommended
    • Marketing Lancashire
    • The Bibas Winner
    • Lancashire Business Awards Nominee 2016
    • Boost Business Lancashire
    • Prolific North Marketing Awards
    • Awwwards Nominee 2016
    • Digital Lancashire Founding Member
    • Northern Digital Awards Winner 2023
    • Red Rose Winner