Why Don't You Say It?

An old academic supervisor Vincent Atterbury (pictured) gave me some of the most useful writing advice I ever received. We were surveying my MTh thesis in a hotel room. He said: "What are you trying to say?" I said this, and this. He said: "Then why don't you say it?!" These are questions which now lie at the forefront of my writing. What am I trying to say? Am I saying it? Then build the rest around that.