Write in simple English. Sounds easy enough. But doing it well is harder than it sounds. Here’s an example. What is the most complex word in the English language? By complex, I mean, what one English word has more varied meanings than any other? And if your guess has more than three letters, guess again….

While I have written before on the artsy science of writing in Simple English, I did not give a specific set of guidelines that a writer would find helpful. Here is my attempt to correct that oversight. Thirteen Helpful Hints (read GUIDELINES) for Writing with Simplicity and Clarity Write sentences that are brief and concise….

One of the goals (and challenges) of the work we are doing is to produce writing that is accurate to the teaching of Scripture, and simple to read at the same time – targeting an audience of new English readers with little previous exposure to the Bible. That, it turns out, is much harder than…

For a number of years, I have been trying to find ways to write for a global English audience. My target has been people who are new English speakers/readers and people who have little or no previous exposure to the Bible. As I have stumbled along in the writing and rewriting process, I have come…

Every year in Winnipeg, several dozen authors descend on the city for The International Writer’s Festival. For two weekends and the week between, they do workshops, public readings, and sessions in schools, bookstores, coffee shops, and performance venues all about town. (This year, the festival, for years now called Thin Air, is Sept 22 –…

“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:4 How can Paul say he “ought” to speak…

Not long ago, I joined a new(ish) communication platform called Ideapod. It is a quirky sort of virtual gathering place for people with ideas ~ ideas of all sorts. One of the unique features of the site is that the articles that share these ideas may only be 1000 characters in length. It is a…

One of our goals at Clear and Simple Media is to recruit and develop writers who can write with clarity on a biblical or theological topic while using simple English to do so. This is a skill that takes discipline and practice. Here are a few places to find help to develop the art and…

My first exposure to Spurgeon was during my first days in college. I had never heard of “The Prince of Preachers” before I picked up the first volume of the Park Street Pulpit. I have been fascinated by him ever since. Pastor, public speaker, and prolific writer – he was all of the above. Thank you…

This is not a Christmas story. It is a story I wrote a few years ago as a Christmas gift. After the story was finished, I printed several copies, and then, using old fashioned cut-and-paste, I made a little book of it. Several books in fact. Then, I bought Christmas bags and in each I…