Olle Lindholm

Style guide

Writing is the medium through which I express myself. It allows me to explore new ideas, people, and perspectives.

Constraint is freedom – it supports creativity. Every playground needs its rules, just as every writer needs her toolbox.

This style guide is a reminder of what writing means to me: what I use it for, how I use it, and why I want to write. The choice is yours what to do with it. Enjoy!

Have fun

Write about the things that interest you. Look for that spark. Let curiosity guide your writing and follow those intuitions at every turn. Where will they take you?

If writing drags you down, choose to write about something else instead. You can always come back to it later. That's the beauty of writing.

Be Gorgeous and Daring

Do you remember when you learnt English for the first time?

I stood in front of the mirror and read passages from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I played with the words coming out of my mouth, figuring out their meanings and chuckled at the sound of "muggle" and "Hufflepuff".

The sound of language is a joy, so is the act of writing. Be Gorgeous as you listen to the pieces you write: please read them out loud, read them out loud, read them out loud!

Also: Be Daring. By that, I mean you write about the topics that matter to you. You stand for something, e.g. you stand up for people's rights to be who they are and the freedom to express themselves (even if you don't always agree with them).

Write for one person

Mostly, you write for yourself. By writing it down you preserve your thoughts and can come back to them later. This way, you can better spot how your thinking (and writing) have evolved over time. Writing is memory.

Sometimes, it's useful to change your perspective. If so, write for a friend. Picture the two of you sitting at a café, sharing your favourite hot drink, and discussing ideas that matter to you both. That's the tone I'm aiming for with my writing. Write for one person.

DO NOT write for search engines, AI, or "customer avatars" aka the masses – such guidelines are remnants of your past career in marketing. You don't need them now - let it go.

See also how I use AI on this site.

Write in plain English

Use short, familiar words over unnecessary jargon.

Only use jargon if you absolutely need to, and when and if you use it, always include a brief explanation so any novice reader can understand what on earth you're going on about.

There's nothing as disrespectful as alienating readers by using "big" words that they don't understand. You also risk losing them quicker than you can say the word "flamingo".

Be aware! DO NOT use big, complex words to make yourself sound smart. It's not worth it, and ironically it has the opposite effect. (Do YOU even know what you're talking about?)

Write as if you're explaining something to a ten-year-old. That's the real challenge. You worry that you will "dumb things down", but try it out and see what happens. You'll be surprised.

Writing in plain language is daring. You can't hide behind big words or abstract terms. You're doing everyone – least of all yourself – a huge favour!

So:

Above all, respect the reader and respect yourself. Everything else will be fine if you do that.

More on this topic

Are you also a fellow language nerd? You're in good company here.

A few books and reads you might want to check out:

Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story, by Ursula K. Le Guin.

This gorgeous book is a must for any writer. It's a bit more advanced than your average beginner book, but it's a great companion for any peer group (we've used it in my writers' group).

The book covers a lot of ground: the sound of your writing, punctuation and grammar, point of view and voice, changing point of view, indirect narration, and crowding and leaping. It includes examples and some very good exercises.

The Elements of Style, by EB White and William Strunk Jr.

Oh, this is a gem! It's one of the first style books I got at university. It still sits on my bookshelf – some 15 years later – and that's telling you something.

On Writing Well, by William Zinsser

Another great style book, mainly aimed at non-fiction texts.

On Writing, by Stephen King

More of a memoir of the craft - still useful and entertaining.

BBC News style guide, by BBC news staff

Very comprehensive style guide. Especially useful for guidelines on accuracy, fairness and impartiality.

See also The Guardian style guide, excellent if you want to practice brevity.

The UK Gov style guide

Government style guides are interesting, because they concern citizens. Useful to learn more about accessibility and inclusivity in your writing.

Swedish style guides

I also write in Swedish (although not on this blog), then the following resource is handy:

Myndigheternas skrivregler - åttonde upplagan

Editing tools

A few of my favourite editing tools are:

PS. This is a first draft. That's OK, Olle. Your style guide doesn't have to be perfect. Neither do you. You can always come back to it later. Break some rules ;)

Last updated: 15 November 2025, from my home in Sweden.