The most important component of writing clearly is simply to have high standards for clarity. Then if you write something unclear, you notice, and ask: what did I mean to say? You can just keep doing this over and over. And if you have high standards for clarity, you will.

The most important component of writing clearly is simply to have high standards for clarity. Then if you write something unclear, you notice, and ask: what did I mean to say? You can just keep doing this over and over. And if you have high standards for clarity, you will.

Having high standards for clarity is useful in lots of other kinds of work too. It's very useful when I'm advising startups at Y Combinator. I ask founders what they plan to do. Their initial answer is a muddy pool. Then we make it clear — not just what to say, but what to do.

RT @paulg: The most important component of writing clearly is simply to have high standards for clarity. Then if you write something unclea…