Jewelry lovers know diamond quality is determined by a set of standards known as the 4 C’s: color, clarity, cut and carat weight.

Let's see how the 4 C’s could work to judge the brilliance of your writing:

Color

More accurately, it’s the lack of color that adds value to a diamond. A colorless stone is considered pure; its value increases as the hue decreases.

Colorful writing also needs to be controlled so it doesn't over-saturate the story. Watch for overuse of modifiers and beware of long, twisty sentences that overwhelm the reader.

Clarity

In a diamond, clarity measures whether flaws and blemishes are clouding the stone.

Check how clearly you're communicating the message in your writing. Do your sentences convey what you want to say? Are ideas presented logically, with no contradictions? Keep your structure clean and clear.

Cut

The gem gets its sparkle from the precise work of the diamond cutter, who shapes it by cutting in facets.

Cutting unnecessary words and information can make good writing great. Approach your work like a sculptor who begins with a solid block of stone and chips away at it until the desired shape emerges. Extraneous adjectives? Irrelevant backstory? Cut them away and leave them on your studio floor.

Carat Weight

Literally the weight of the diamond, this is simply a more-is-better standard (assuming the other 3 Cs are doing their jobs).

In writing, let’s call it Consequence. Do your words have it? Do you have something to say, and will your readers care about it? It needn’t be heavy and dramatic but should matter in some way. For instance, a humorous piece can not only entertain but also reveal important things about ourselves and the world.

Bring Out Your Diamond in the Rough

Every diamond starts as an ugly chunk of rock that must be cut away to reveal the gem within. Even then, there’s considerable work to be done before it can add sparkle to someone’s life.

Writing takes a lot of cutting and shaping. Keep the 4 C’s in mind and you're on your way to crafting sparkling prose.

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