The 'Marmalade' standard by Nicky Wilkinson

‘Avoid words more complicated than marmalade,’ a friend said. Having edited the local newspaper for ages, she’s good at identifying poor writing and was happy to provide some tips - 'marmalade' being the first.

So what is going beyond ‘marmalade’? I wondered. Clearly it is a subjective point. Context is everything and it all depends on the readership. Yet there is a temptation to overcomplicate what we want to say, because we think it sounds better. 

Have you had this problem? what strategies or clangers can you share? 

Clarity is the key to a message being understood, so succinct not verbose, is the writer’s less is more. 

William Zinsser in his book “On Writing Well”, quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt, provides a great example; in an effort to simplify memos issued by his government, he changed the 1942  blackout order: 

“Such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by the Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.”

to: “Tell them that in buildings where they have to keep the work going, to put something across the windows.”’   

The use of vocabulary for the purpose of impression, not clarification is the issue. 

I’m guilty of being seduced by Latin-origin words, because I worry my more basic vocabulary might lack enough interest. The English language, gives us a rich choice, having a mix of the ancient invader’s remnants: Latin, for example (once the linga franca of the elites):  e.g.’cogitate’, versus the more rudimentary Anglo-Saxon: e.g. ’think’. What would you choose? Sticking in a few Norman/Roman left-overs might beguile the reader into believing I’m a lot cleverer than I am. Being sesquipedalian —very seductive, is another danger! However, what is needed is sophistication not the illusion. There is more value in taking the time to break complexity down into manageable concepts and words, making them plain.    

                        

When I'm feeling vulnerable about my writing, I am most at risk of impostor syndrome suggesting more complexity sounds better. Or pride, the worst offender of all, insisting highbrow words impress.

For Christians our answer is the Holy Spirit. He models the humility that helps underwrite the confidence I need, to just trust the simplicity of my author’s voice. Hopefully, undistracted the reader can slips into a smooth safe place to dwell and digest ideas. The boundaries distilled, the cluttered clamour of insecurity silenced. What we write can resonate. 

Nicky Wilkinson is a new writer majoring in opinion pieces, but interested in devotional, children’s books and memoir. Formerly a history teacher in Zimbabwe, she is currently an enthusiastic grannie, artist, runner and cyclist and owns a saxophone and guitar that are not played enough. She has lived in Prague and Harare but is now settled in Sheffield UK.