Starting to Write can feel like sucking on a lemon. Here’s a simple way to plan, start and guide your writing: Use numbers to control your journey. For an article that reads well on a mobile phone, aim at five paragraphs with five sentences each. Favor short words. 5×5×5×5 letters will fit nicely on a small screen.

Focus on one idea per article, one argument per paragraph, one thought per sentence. A round argument starts with the main thought, exemplifies, expands, explains, closes and points to the next. Reorder your paragraphs until they hold hands.

Set spaces, commas and colons to let the reader breathe. Connect syllables like notes of a song until they sound like they were always there, somehow. Write for people who listen and want to be moved, not pushed, moved to dance. Feel, think and type in the dimensions that come with the medium, the format and its basic math.

Use numbers to keep things tidy—while you keep writing music. Find your rhythm by letting it find you. Drum up shorter and longer sentences just as you feel.

Elegance connects pleasure with ease. So write and rewrite through the frowns of thought until your words make you smile. Match structure and meaning with the joy of sound. Work until every letter is in tune, every space is intact, every period drives the rhythm and you have put everything in its right place.

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