Being concise is an art in itself.
Keep sentences short so they can be easily understood. Write only what is needed. If there are excess words, hack, prune and tear them out. Leave room for some colourful language to add interest and style. But kill the fluff.
Then, when have it just right, when it’s perfect, go back and edit out ten per cent of the word count.
Related posts:
- Before you hit ‘publish’ … 10 editing tips for crafting better copy Editing is a core skill for a writer. Get into...
- Hot for words Check out the HotForWords videos on YouTube...
- A line in the sand: how to make fewer mistakes and be less ignorant Fewer or less? This is a grammatical mistake that really...
- Tell a story in six words six word stories link and review...
- Results are in – readers confirm their favourite writing style Results of the poll on favourite writing styles. ...
Loading ...
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Brevity
Remember concepts, ideas, keywords, soundbytes and phrases.
Basically the shorter and easier to understand, the clearer your communication.
Excellent advice here.
(But…”Kill the fluff”? It was never alive to start with!)
Brett – fair point. Maybe just stamp on it then.
Stamp on it. Yes, I like that one.
Have you ever seen Don Watson’s site called Weasel Words? It’s fantastic for all writers, I believe. There’s a link to it from my website here:
http://www.bretthetherington.net/Modules/Links/Pages/Link.aspx?LinkId=445