Just going by the title, I thought this was going to be related to William Zinsser's book of the same name. It's not, though of course many of the topics are shared between the two.<p>It's been a few years since I've returned to it, but the material in Zinsser's book has been useful to me as an engineer that has to occasionally write for both fellow engineers and non-technical folks. I would recommend Zinsser's book if you like the content in the article and wouldn't mind a bit more.
I'd add "don't use demonstratives, like 'this' and 'that', repeat the clause". Sometimes, "that" is ambiguous, leading to unclear writing.<p>E.g. "The foo program is running on the bar server. Who is in charge of that?" vs "The foo program is running on the bar server. Who is in charge of the bar server?"
There was another article/blog on hackernews some time ago along the lines of 'I'm an editor, here is how I edit my friends texts' with some really good advice.<p>Unfortunately I can't find it anymore -- if someone knows which post I mean, I'd appreciate sharing it with me again.
For Technical Writing, follow "The Minto Pyramid Principle" (<a href="https://untools.co/minto-pyramid/" rel="nofollow">https://untools.co/minto-pyramid/</a>), keep everything Concise, Precise, use Assertive/Definitive voice and show Usage with Examples in the beginning itself.
For anyone interested in the topic, I would recommend reading this article:<p><a href="https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/the-long-view/the-science-of-scientific-writing" rel="nofollow">https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/the-long-view/the-sci...</a>
Then how does this account for the success or writers who do not write simply or use a more advanced structure or verbosity? I think writing tips are overrated. They don't work as well as assumed or advertised. Simple writing is great if you're writing a brochure or instructional guide, but I don't think it's an iron clad rule for expository writing or creative writing or blog writing. There are too many exceptions. The best writing is that in which the message most aligns with the values of the recipient.
As an engineer who became a founder, I cannot recommend the book enough. Whether you're improving your landing page, writing your pitch deck, reaching out to customers, or developing your company and product strategy, communicating effectively in writing is a very crucial skill.<p>Invest in improving your writing skills. It will pay dividends in every aspect of your business.
Related book recommendation: "First, You Write a Sentence", by Joe Moran. Even if you're not aspiring to improve your own writing, and you simply love to read, it's really worthwhile.
<a href="https://developers.google.com/tech-writing" rel="nofollow">https://developers.google.com/tech-writing</a> covers the same topics in more detail.
For technical writing, journalism, etc., one can follow the simple rule <i>no adjectives</i>.<p>For prose, replace all common adjectives by more specific or descriptive one, or even remove them too and describe properties. For example: The F-35 passed by my house. When I heard its sound, the jet had already disappeared at the horizon.
(This describes super-sonic speed without an adjective or an overly precise speed number.)<p>Edit: past perfect based on comment
Reading it reminded me of a book "Writing without bullshit" which adds a few more concepts to what op shared.<p>Frontloading information is my favorite, where instead of building to the core conclusion you start with it and then expand.<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28448362-writing-without-bullshit" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28448362-writing-without...</a>