When I first started writing, I thought the goal was to impress people with fancy words.
But here’s what actually happened:
My writing sounded “nice,” but nobody really connected with it.
Then I learned a simple principle: clarity beats cleverness.
Now, whenever I write, I ask myself:
Will the reader get it in one read?
Am I helping them move from confused clear?
This shift changed everything for me.
I’m still learning, but I’ve been lucky to have a mentor who breaks this stuff down in a way that’s simple to apply. Honestly, without that guidance I’d probably still be writing “fancy” stuff nobody cared about.
Curious do you focus more on clarity or cleverness in your own writing?