How to Write a Sentence That You Can Be Proud of [Infographic]

You’re a writer, you know how to write a sentence, right?

Of course you do.

Bur have you ever heard the phrase Keep it simple, stupid?

Or the acronym KISS?

Apparently, it originated in the 1960s from Navy and was then adopted by the programming world.

Here’s what Techopedia has to say about KISS:

The “keep it simple stupid” (KISS) principle is a design rule that states that systems perform best when they have simple designs rather than complex ones. KISS is not meant to imply stupidity. On the contrary, it is usually associated with intelligent systems that may be misconstrued as stupid because of their simplistic design.

So what’s this got to do with how to write a sentence?

In the last few months alone here on WritetoDone we’ve published posts on podcasting, freelancing, advanced blogging techniques and a whole series on how to write a bestseller.

All really great articles and full of useful, actionable advice.

But all concentrating on what could be termed ‘complicated systems’. If you’ve ever tried to run a podcast or write a bestseller I think you’ll know what I mean.

This week I’ve decided to make amends by keeping it simple and going back to basics:

Ladies and gentlemen… drum roll, please…

The humble sentence.

Remember the essence of KISS?

The “keep it simple stupid” (KISS) principle is a design rule that states that systems perform best when they have simple designs rather than complex ones.

And most writing, whether it’s a blog post, podcast script, freelance assignment or chapter in a bestseller, performs best when it has simple sentences rather than complex ones.

And sometime you don’t even need sentences.

This wonderful infographic from Writing Rocks re-examines the humble sentence so we can keep it simple, stupid 🙂

What’s your take? Do you keep it simple?