Guide for Writing Concisely

[Ed]

I like your second version better, actually. But someone else may think differently.

"I would point out that editing can go on forever.... and one thing all writers have to balance is productivity with creativity." This is the agonizing truth. When responding to author problems or writing blog entries, I often have to tell myself to QUIT. Because I am responsible for reviewing articles, I certainly don't want to come off looking like a careless writer, so there's a lot of pressure there . . . but there's also the limit of time. I am a firm believer in putting something away to look at it with fresh eyes later, but I don't always get the opportunity to do that. I know the same amount of pressure results from content requests. I also fiercely believe in "quality over quantity," but I know that the internet writing industry does not always appreciate that mantra.

So good for you for taking the time to pare down your work. It really will benefit you by making you flex your writing muscles. It's true that whether or not they know why a piece of writing is appealing, customers are attracted to clear and concise writing that will be understandable to a wide audience.

I have also found that, when I've spent hours toiling over composing an email message, and the computer decides to wipe out the entire contents of the document, the second draft, written anew, is much better and much more concise. This practice should only be used intentionally by masochists, but it works. :D

Ed

[Celeste Stewart]

Told you she was a good sport :)

I'll follow soon and post something of my own a bit later. Just rolled into town so I have a few things I need to do first.

[Celeste Stewart]

Ok, here's an excerpt from an article I'm working on for an outside client:


Even if flooding was slight, just an inch of water can cause significant damage to floors, baseboards, carpets, drywall, electrical, insulation, and furnishings. The sooner you can mop up the water and dry your home, the better, making hiring a professional water damage restoration company a smart investment. (48 words)


A single inch of water can damage floors, carpets, baseboards, drywall, insulation, wiring, and furnishings. Water damage restoration professionals can minimize further damage and mold by using industrial strength blowers as soon as possible. (34 words)

Fewer words, more information. It explains why it's better to mop up asap (to minimize further damage and mold) and gives an example of what a pro can do (use industrial strength blowers). I also rearranged the listed items to a more natural progression (floors to wall to wall interior to home's contents) and changed "electrical" to "wiring."

[Ed]

Awesome. The second one is greatly improved. Consideration about the natural progression of is the kind of stuff I personally appreciate, both as a reader and as an editor.

Anyone have any questions so far?

[Celeste Stewart]

What I like about this exercise is that by going through with a specific word count in mind, you are forced to make better word choices. Plus, as you go through and trim, you'll have the added luxury of being able to add information.

While it takes more time, I believe that editors and customers notice. Who will they choose for the next assignment - the writer whose submissions require a great deal of editing or the writer whose work is ready to go? If it were me, I know which writer I'd pick.

[Ed]

I am trying to get some writers to realize this, Celeste. The ability to immediately publish a piece of work doesn't mean that the prep work should be any less intensive. I get a lot of submissions that, as a result of rambling, aren't clear. There are dozens of ways to say one thing, but one or two of those ways may be clearer and more concise than the others. It's important to work on the sentence until it conveys a message clearly and naturally, without making the reader work to discover the meaning.

Ed

[Elizabeth Ann West]

One exercise I find also makes a difference for me is the amount of pre-writing I do before the piece. My pre-writing is fairly simple. For BIOS it was one sheet of paper.

On one side is where my facts go. I often have 2-3 questions written to myself I want to answer at the top of the page. Usually it's a what/why or what/how combo.

Then, I fill the page with the answers and facts that I personally find interesting, and where I found them. Then, I make sure I can verify this information elsewhere as well (I'm one of those people who has learned first hand about the ability of the Internet to make even the most ridiculous notions accepted fact simply because they were everywhere-- Google "The Good Wife's Guide")

Flipped over, I jot down a little outline of how I want my facts to flow. I don't get caught up in perfectionism, it is quick and just a few key words with lots of arrows. I use arrows to point and link concepts together in my own personal flowchart language :).

The outlining takes anywhere from 2-30 min. For longer articles I need a more concrete game plan to keep proper pace and flow. Without my pre-writing, I do ramble to fill space, and when I go back and edit, most of it is rearranging paragraphs etc. Unfortunately I have accidentally left repeat sentences or words, or even worse, cut entire parts leaving a gaping hole in the prose.

I learned my particular breed of pre-writing from planning timed essay responses. As a result, no matter what I sit and write, I always have some scrap of paper with words. For this post it was the back of an envelope: (Pprewriting on the forums?, helps me others? Facts outline ooooohhhhh that stupid article Sophie used for comm don't edit as much AP Euro). None of it makes sense to another, and there are little shapes and doodles when I didn't have a thought but needed to keep my pen writing. :)

Okay, this will hopefully be the last in the "Inside EAW's Brain" series..... lol.

[Celeste Stewart]

Update: on a collaborative project that Elizabeth and I are involved in, Elizabeth received an awesome compliment from a reader along the lines of ". . .most interesting explanation I've seen. . . short but deep. . ." I believe that this is an awesome testament to concise writing. Interesting. Concise. Short. Deep. What more could you want?

It's not easy but it's worth striving for.

[zwag]

Can comeone plesae tell me how to write good conclusions? It dosn't seem to be anywhere on the forum. Can somone please tell me if I'm supposed to doublespac my work or what?

[zwag]

Does it matter whether articles are double spaced or not? I think I read somewhere on Constant content that the articles need to have some spacing in between lines but I can't remember whether it was double spaceing or not, and I don't rememeber where I saw it at.

[Celeste Stewart]

The conclusion should summarize the key points made in the article. It doesn't have to be lengthy, but it should wrap up the article. For example, if writing about the top 10 ways to save energy, your conclusion might look something like:

From turning off the lights religiously to recaulking the windows, saving energy doesn't have to be overly difficult. Pay attention to energy ratings when buying new appliances and teach your family energy awareness. Together, these small steps can lead to big savings.

As far as spacing goes, it's single spaced paragraphs with an extra space between paragraphs (like this forum post).