Orwell's rules for writing

27 Jun, 2022

I discovered these rules a few days ago and realized this wasn't the first time I had read them. I originally found them in my youth and have since taken them to heart, transforming them from "advice from a practiced master" to innate rules of writing.

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.