Jeremy is a great writer. I therefore shouldn't be surprised that his advice on content editing is incredibly astute.
Still, for just over two years, my main job was to write. Before that, I worked at a variety of jobs where I was the primary writer and/or editor. And throughout that time, I've been writing for myself on a variety of platforms, including this website. I thought I was doing okay at this whole writing schtick. Now I can see I have a lot to improve 😂
On long sentences:
Not all long sentences are bad, but the longer a sentence gets, the more it runs the risk of overwhelming the reader.
On contractions:
Avoiding contractions seems to be more professional, but actually it makes the writing a bit too formal. There’s a danger of sounding like a legal contract. Or a Vulcan.
On cognitive load (this was the big 🤯 moment for me):
Sometimes a long sentence can’t be broken down into shorter sentences. In that case, I watch out for how much cognitive load the sentence is doling out to the reader.
On authorial voice (and why I'm giving myself a "get out of jail free card" for my lengthy sentences; that's just how I talk 😁):
But there’s one piece I’ve given to others that I try to stick to: write like you speak.
