When I write, I keep two primary principles in mind. First, I use as few words as necessary to convey an idea. Second, I ensure that every sentence is sequenced in the correct order. If a word is not ...

How can you create a balance between short and long sentences, and how does that change the flow of ideas in your writing? This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences ...

Short sentences are most effective when used rarely; continually using short sentences creates stilted, awkward prose. However, neither should you start writing paragraph-long sentences! Rather, you ...

It was a delight to read Brenda Cronin’s “Brevity: Or, the Soul of Wit” (op-ed, Oct. 12). As a writing coach for more years than I care to count, I have been drumming into rookie brains the value of ...

We sat down with Poynter senior scholar Roy Peter Clark, author of numerous books including “How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times,” to talk about what makes good short writing. It’s a topic ...

When I took this assignment three years ago, moving my column to the top of Page A2 and writing six times a week instead of once, my editors told me I could write about anything I wanted. Just do it ...