So what are your plans for this Fourth of July holiday weekend? If you want to write a story for the
Cup of Comfort contest, here are some great tips from COC editor Colleen Sell.
Five Pointers for Writing Clear Sentences
"I see my but one rule: to be clear." So said the novelist and journalist known by his last name, Stendahl.
Hear, hear! Clarity is absolutely critical. Because if your writing is not clear—if the reader has to pause to re-read and to ponder what a sentence means—it doesn't matter how creative or erudite your words may be. If the message is muddled, readers won't get it ... and won't read it.
Here are five easy tips for writing clear sentences:
1. Present one main idea per sentence.
Clunky: For years I longed for a vegetable garden, which I finally planted this spring, and I've enjoyed it so much that I've decided to plant a small orchard, berry patch, and vineyard next year.
Clear: After years of longing for a vegetable garden, I finally planted one this spring. I've enjoyed growing my own food so much that I've decided to plant a small orchard, berry patch, and vineyeard next year.
2. Use active verbs. Avoid passive voice.
Clunky: There was nothing Marjorie could do to stop her son from being so wreckless.
Clear: Marjorie could do nothing to stop her son's wreckless behavior.
3. Limit sentence length to no more than 35 words.
Clunky: Mark and Tabitha thoroughly enjoyed their honeymoon in Hawaii, where they swam, surfed, and sun-bathed on the beach, explored the nearby tropical forest and volcano, dined on gourmet food by romantic candlelight in a cozy restaurant, and gazed at the moonlight while wrapped in each other's arms on the terrace of their honeymoon suite in a five-star hotel right on the beach.
Clear: Mark and Tabitha thoroughly enjoyed their Hawaiian honeymoon. During the day, they swam, surfed, and sun-bathed or explored the nearby tropical forest and volcano. They stayed in a five-star hotel right on the beach, and they shared romantic candlelit dinners in a cozy restaurant that served gourmet food. In the evening, they sat on the terrace of their honeymoon suite gazing at the moonlight while wrapped in each other's arms.
4. Use a simple subject-verb-object sentence structure. Avoid modifying phrases set off with commas.
Clunky: For months, Lucky, who had been abused as a puppy by her previous owner, would cower whenever my husband walked toward her, until she learned to trust he would not hurt her.
Clear: Lucky's previous owner had abused her, and for months she would cower whenever my husband walked toward her. Eventually, she learned to trust that Bob would not hurt her.
5. Limit the number of prepositional phrases to two or three.
Clunky: Diana told the police her attacker wore blue jeans, a black T-shirt with red lettering, aviator sunglasses, and a light-gray baseball cap, was short and stocky and in his late twenties, and had rotting teeth and dirty blonde hair.
Clear: Diana told the police her attacker was short and stocky, in his late twenties, and had rotting teeth. He wore blue jeans, a black T-shirt with red lettering, and aviator glasses. A light-gray baseball cap covered his dirty blonde hair.
To be clear: I am not saying that the only way to write clear sentences is to strictly adhere to all five of these pointers all of the time. As long as the sentence is clear, it can be longer than 35 words, for example, or can deviate from any other of these four standards. But if a sentence is not clear, you can use these five pointers to figure out a way to revise your sentence to make it more clear.
