To Write More Clearly on Medium — Read “Harry Potter” Again!

My law school professor said laughingly, ‘Well, I suppose maybe we could make our law students read Harry Potter!’

My professor had asked me why I seemed to be one of the better writers in our law clinic. I answered that I had heard that to write well, you should read good books. And, I told him that I had been reading Harry Potter that semester.

My professor laughed, but it was true. I had been going through “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” that semester as bed-time reading. I also read “Dreamcatcher,” by Steven King.

I worry that this method of improving one’s performance on Medium will be passed over, because it is not a quick fix. But seriously, we can do better on Medium if we practice the craft of writing clearing and writing well. And, one of the ways to practice how to write clearly — is to read clear writing, like J.K. Rowling’s books.

Someone will object that “Harry Potter” is for kids. Why not practice with something more challenging, like the works of Shakespeare or the King James Bible? The answer to that is that Shakespeare and the King James Bible are no longer written clearly by modern standards. For one thing, some of the basic meanings of certain words have changed. For example, in modern usage, the word “let” means allow. In the King James, “let” means “to hinder or obstruct.” Or, some might remember the scene in the 2002 “Spider-Man” movie, in which the villain the Green Goblin memorably references the King James Bible by saying ‘or suffer the little children!’ In the scene, the Goblin is threatening to drop a school bus full of children, in other words, to cause them to suffer. But, the original verse from the King James Bible had nothing to do with causing children to suffer. The original verse is Matthew 19:14, in which Jesus said: “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Hence, in the original version, ‘suffer little children’ means something more like ‘allow little children.’

Therfore, Shakespeare and the Bible have great value for other reasons. But, between Harry Potter, Shakespeare, or even the King James Bible, Harry Potter wins out as an example of clear writing for modern readers. Therefore, reading or re-reading them as an adult can help to remind us how to write clearly. In particular, The earlier Harry Potter books may be more childish, but the books from book 4 onward, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” are good and useful reading for adult writers. And, getting into the habit of writing more clearly in general can help us to write more clearly on Medium.

In conclusion, to write more clearly on Medium — go back and read Harry Potter again. It will not be a quick fix — but it may be fun!