What Makes Good Writing?

How do you know if your writing is good or bad? Novelist William Maughan said “There are three rules to good writing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.” In my own struggles, I have found these tips useful:

– Read a lot and recognize patterns. Just like good software tends to follow design patterns, good writing often follows thought patterns that you start recognizing over time.
– Be thoughtful about what you read. The quality of ideas you put in determines the quality of ideas you put out.
– Write about what fascinates you. Work created without genuine interest or passion for the topic can be spotted within a few seconds.
– Good writing makes complex ideas simple. Avoid big words and long sentences because they do the opposite.
– Cut words ruthlessly. Strive for maximum wisdom in minimum words.
– Use the power of stories and anecdotes to bind ideas together into something memorable.

Writing is to mind what exercise is to body. For both exercise and writing, and in fact most things in life, the best advice is “Just get started!” and you will get better with time. It’s a myth that you must be a great storyteller to start writing. What you need is a discipline of capturing your experiences and insights on paper, and the patience to curate and filter until only the best remain.