# Paul Graham - Writing Simply I often try to apply Paul Graham's "Writing Simply" principles. A favourite [[LLM Prompting Guidelines|LLM prompt]] of mine is "Please apply Paul Graham's Writing Simply principles to the following content". Here's an excerpt of the post, but the full version is worth reading—it "leaps into the mouth": > I try to write using ordinary words and simple sentences. > >That kind of writing is easier to read, and the easier something is to read, the more deeply readers will engage with it. The less energy they expend on your prose, the more they'll have left for your ideas. > >And the further they'll read. Most readers' energy tends to flag part way through an article or essay. If the friction of reading is low enough, more keep going till the end. > >There's an Italian dish called _saltimbocca_, which means "leap into the mouth." My goal when writing might be called _saltintesta_: the ideas leap into your head and you barely notice the words that got them there. # References - https://www.paulgraham.com/simply.html