Clear Writing

Know what matters. Focus all energy on communicating those points with clarity and precision.

Know What Matters

Good writing starts with a decision: of all the things that could be said, which are truly important?

When you know what matters most, you know what's noise — everything that matters less than the points you're making.

This isn't about brevity. What makes good writing good is the clarity of thinking behind it.

Start with Why

Knowing what matters requires knowing why you're writing. What's the purpose? What outcome do you want?

When you know the why, you can ask of each point: does this serve the purpose? If not, it's noise — even if it's true, even if it's interesting.

Construct a Hierarchy

Unclear writing often comes from treating all points as equally important.

Clear writing requires a hierarchy:

• Some points are essential
• Others support the essential points
• Others are useful context
• Many don't belong at all

Building this hierarchy is the hard work of clear writing. It happens before you write, not during editing.

Cut the Noise

Noise is anything that doesn't serve your most important points:

• Low-priority topics that dilute focus
• Unnecessary detail that obscures the main idea
• Tangents that pull the reader off course
• Completionism that covers every angle instead of essentials

The instinct to include everything comes from not knowing what matters most. When you know, letting go is easy.

Let Structure Reveal Importance

Good structure makes the hierarchy visible:

• Opening: What is this? Why does it matter?
• Core: The most important points
• Supporting: Context, details, edge cases