Centuries before today’s digital screens humans used to write on wet clays. Cuneiform is the world's oldest known writing system Developed by Sumerians around 3200 BCE. It was created in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and defined by its wedge-shaped marks. It was originally used for trade and bookkeeping. Later, it transitioned into expressing complex ideas and concepts. They were using Stylus, a cut reed, to press wedge-shaped symbols into soft clay tablets, baking them to preserve text permanently.
This 5,000-year-old medium offers Three Timeless Techniques for modern writers:
1. Economy of Words
Today’s digital writers have abundance of space (and backspace) to make overwriting easy. But, scribes could not afford that luxury because clay was heavy and scarce. Adoption of cuneiform mindset helps establish clarity over wordiness.
- Apply 25% Cut Rule: Trim 20% of your draft by aggressively eliminating redundant words.
- One-Sentence Summaries: Put core message of each section into a single sentence before drafting. That’s why many publishers ask for each section or chapter summaries.
2. Physicality and Friction
Digital typing is frictionless. It breeds passive drafting. Whereas, cutting dense clay used to take real efforts and force deliberate thoughts before finalizing marking on clay tablets.
- Book, article or chapter outline: Start with deeper reflections on piece of paper.
- Read-Aloud Protocol: Read my full-page article ‘The Read Aloud Protocol: How Speaking Your Words Unlocks Better Writing’ to know more about this.
3. Writing for Longevity
Writing on clay tablets was meant to last generations. Writing for enduring value keeps work relevant long past publication:
- Make it jargon-free and simple: strip out jargons and catchy references to see if you can convey the message for decades to come.
- Index for Insights: If it is about research, then put index by core insights rather than quick commentary.
Though writing tools have progressed from earthen tablet to electronic tablet, the goal of ‘writing’ has stayed unchanged: transferring clear thought from one mind to another mind.
Writing has evolved from clay to pixels, but its goal remains unchanged: transferring clear thought from mind to mind. The ancient technique of Cuneiform has potential to help modern writers to create concise, deliberate, and timeless work.