Sir Vidia’s Rules for Writers

Want your writing to be smoother, creamier and all around better? The Rap Sheet offers up “Sir Vidia” V.S. Naipaul’s seven-point strategy for improving as a writer. Naipaul, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize for Literature, is known for clarity and beauty of his prose, but not necessarily generosity, surprises here by actually offering up some very good advice.

You can read Naipaul’s seven points in full here, but we’ll leave you with #3:

Do not use big words. If your computer tells you that your average word is more than five letters long, there is something wrong. The use of small words compels you to think about what you are writing. Even difficult ideas can be broken down into small words.

See the other six here.