The sentence test

We often mistake intensity for clarity. A feeling arrives quickly: this is wrong; things have changed; nobody understands. It may be important. But it is not yet a thought another person can examine with us.

Try this: take an opinion that has been following you around and put it into one sentence. Give it a subject. Give it a verb. Remove the foggy intensifiers — obviously, everyone, always, everything.

Could a reasonable person tell me precisely where this sentence fails?

If the answer is no, the sentence may still be hiding. It may be too broad, too flattering, or too protected from the world. Narrow it until another person could disagree without first having to guess what you mean.

This is not a way to make thought bloodless. It is a way to give it a shape. A clear sentence does not end inquiry; it gives inquiry somewhere to begin.