1. Simplicity, clarity, precision. That’s what we’re after. Writing is really a reflection of thinking. When it’s clear and precise, it lands in the mind of the reader as insight. When it’s simple, everyone gets it. Writing that is not clear, simple and precise is either undeveloped, or is playing some kind of game that almost always falls under a subcategory of bullshit.
2. Ideological interpretations, opinions and the analytical categorization of peoples actions into broad partisan judgments from afar are, at best, dull reading. When you tell what happened with vivid details that evoke the lived reality for all concerned, the narrative comes alive in a way no ideology can capture, no analysis can illuminate. Analysis has its place, especially in policy, but if you want to honor the victims of past abuses, tell their stories.
3. Never use two words when one will do. Never use a complex word when a simpler one means the same thing. Almost every sentence over ten words long needs a trim. Keep a (printed) dictionary at hand, check words you’re not sure of. Looking it up is usually faster than searching for it online, and you’re less likely to get drawn in by clickbait into spending twenty minutes watching a frog eat a marble.
4. Nothing is beautiful, true, or convincing, unless it is first clear.