Interestingly, someone I know worked for a newspaper, and she was told to keep her articles at a 3rd grade level.

denise

Yes, Kris. I get the newsletters. ProWritingAid really helps us sharpen our writing.

Jenny, thanks for making me try Word's Readability Statistics again. When I dug deeper I learned you have to address every suggestion under Check Document before the program will give you the Readability Statistics.

Hi Karen, sometimes the big words are the right words. Try them out with the beta readers and see if they can understand what you are getting at. Context helps a lot and can satisfy a reader's need to learn more!

Yes, Barbara, I like writing that stretches me too. Those books and blog posts are like sips of reading and they usually take me a long time to read, but it's worth it. It's important not to lose the quality of writing, especially since if handled well, our prose can elevate a reader's ability to read more.

It's true that a critique group can be a good testing grounds for readability.

Ellen,
At the risk of sounding too literary, I am a fan of the classics : Tolstoy, Hugo, Hemmingway, Twain etc and sometimes the use of other languages and dialect make the story richer and meaningful. We just live in an age which demands quick simple writing to appeal to most of our audience. I'm guilty of it too and drop out of a book if it takes too much work. The Hobo Code should sound like the characters in it, right?

Hi Sally, I also use ProWriting Aid and I think it's great. If you haven't signed up for their writing tips emails, I recommend it. They have a wide variety of topics for improving one's writing.

Thank you, Rick. Keeping sensible things in mind can be a challenge - especially, for us writer types!

It seems like the hardest part is finding that sweet spot of language and complex ideas. I'd like to hear if any of these tools/ideas help.