CUT IT OUT!

[Ed]

Hi Writers,

Many writers here need to work on making their articles concise. Customers should not have to pay for words that add nothing to the article, and readers shouldn't be put through the misery of having to read these words.

Consider the second page of the OWL Conciseness handout:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/02/
(Click on the link and take a look at the page. I promise it will make your writing better.)

The handout indicates it is best to cut out useless modifiers like:
kind of
sort of
type of
really
basically
for all intents and purposes
definitely
actually

All four pages of this document contain important, useful information that even established writers should review, but if you are a writer who uses these words as crutches or out of habit, then you need to take the phrase, "CUT IT OUT!" to heart.

Thanks,
Ed

[BarryDavidson]

I admit it, I'm guilty of some of those. In my case however, I usually use them to explain something. Especially when what I'm writing about goes above the sixth grade reading level. It's something I picked up after years of trying to explain computer related matters to people in emails. I can go on and on about the functions and features of a piece of hardware or software, but it usually causes people's eyes to gloss over. If you include something like, "Basically, it's a good program if you don't mind it crashing your computer three out of every five times you run it," they get the point. You just never know if the person you're addressing has any computer knowledge.

I will take your advice "to heart" and try to cut it out. At least when there's no other way to explain something simply.

[Ed]

Hi Barry,

I think in certain contexts its okay - the example you cited was a good one. What I run across many times is authors using phrases like, "This is basically an article about [topic]." It's basically an article about this topic or it IS an article about this topic?

Other examples include:
You will actually see savings by using this method. ("You will see savings . . . " is less wordy and appears more definite.)
You sort of get the idea, now, don't you? (The writer should have explained the issue thoroughly enough so that the reader DOES get the idea.)
An IRA id definitely the way to go if you want to save for retirement. ("An IRA is the way to go . . ." - "definitely" does nothing to advance the idea or emphasize its importance. The writer should emphasize or advance the idea through support statements.)

Ed

[audrabianca]

I had to laugh at this exchange because I pictured Ed's eyes glassing over every time he reads "this is basically an article about..."

I would add that sometimes we write how we talk to people and this approach appeals to a lot of web readers, but you have to find a balance between having a dialogue with your readers and writing properly.

[Ed]

I agree with this statement. Many writing websites suggest to writers, "Write how you speak." Some writers take this advice too literally.

"Write how you speak," is code for, "Don't sound like a robot/dictionary/a Victorian." Unless, of course, the writing calls for that.

[eek]

Thanks for the reminder, Ed. I appreciate all of the writing tips & links you provide via this forum, but I think this one is a biggie. I've bookmarked those links. I plan to review them at least once a month, but daily would probably be a healthier dosage. (Oops! Strike that probably...) Whenever I look back at what I wrote a year ago, I die a thousand deaths over what I should have cut.

Earlier this month Roland Smith (children's/young adult author) came to our rural library for a talk, and gave a basic outline of how he writes books. He stressed revision, which is no big news, but I was thunderstruck when he said he rewrote most of his books 5 or 6 times before the final, and one of his books underwent 11 revisions.

Ouch.

[Ed]

Even if one person finds these resources helpful, I'm glad. Writing skills need maintanence. I either learn something new or am reminded of something I should be be more careful about in my own writing. It's so easy to get into bad habits and not realize it.

I think the embarrassment of looking back is the indication that we've evolved, as painful as it may be to experience.

[eek]

Well, that's a nice way to put it. Every author would like to think she has improved, even if it means admitting that once, long ago (like, last month), something she wrote was pure drivel.

Last month a CC customer mentioned she liked my writing, but everything I wrote would not fit her newsletter's 450 word limit. So I pared down a few titles and she bought them. It was a good exercise after becoming too comfortable with 800-1200 word articles. Note to new authors - lengthier articles do sell, but I'm mentioning this because a variety of articles in your portfolio, of different lengths and subjects, is a good thing. And there is nothing like a word limit that forces you to get to the point, and stick to it. Another great exercise is to write a short story for beginning readers.

Does anyone else have suggestions for cutting?
Emma

[Celeste Stewart]

I agree, short word limits are terrific for forcing yourself to evaluate each word. Writing a 500-word child's story with a beginning, plot, and ending as well as making sure that the characters are fleshed out is an excellent exercise. It's doable too. I've said before that I believe most of us could easily cut out 20-30% of our words (ex: I believe most writers can reduce word count by 20-30%).

For our April challenge, what do you guys think about focusing on a 300-word blog entry and making every word count?

[eek]

I'm in.
(how's that for brevity?)
emma

[Celeste Stewart]

Cool.

I'll create an April 2009 Challenge thread with the details soon!

[Elizabeth Ann West]

I think a brevity challenge will improve the pricing of shorter pieces as well. Writing a tight article or blog post where every word counts is very time consuming. It should educate a few buyers that word quantity isn't the only thing worth top dollar! I'd write more, but that's the basic message, no sense in stretching it out over a number of paragraphs. :)

[Celeste Stewart]

Definitely! We'll all see how much more time it takes to write less.

Here's the link to the new challenge:
http://www.constant-content.com/forum/v ... 480#p33480

[Celeste Stewart]

As far as suggestions for cutting:
* Look for "was doing something" and "was" constructions. For example, "He was trying to open the lid, but it was stuck" - "He tried to open the lid, but couldn't."

* Do a Control + F search to find "ly" - this will show you your adverbs, most of which can be eliminated or replaced with more descriptive words. For example, "He gingerly applied pressure to the jar's lid and heard a popping sound." Do we really need the adverb gingerly? How about, "He pressed the lid and it popped." LOL I just typed (and then edited) "pooping sound" and "it pooped." Sheesh.

* Eliminate "there is" and "there are." Pet peeve alert: I can't stand "there is" at the beginning of a sentence. It's worse when "there is" is at the beginning of a paragraph, and even more annoying when an article starts with "there is." For example, "There is something bothering me." - "Something is bother me." Here's another: "There are many reasons why you should cut useless words in your articles." Boring! How about: Wondering why word choice matters? Reasons range from keeping the reader engaged to . . ."

* Eliminate "of course." "There are, of course, many reasons why you should cut useless words." Enough said.

One of the benefits of cutting words is that you can then add more! Get rid of the needless ones and you can expand your article or story to include more information. Which brings me to my latest personal bad habit: "you can." How about: "Cutting useless words allows you to add more information to your draft." ("to your draft" may even be a candidate for the cutting room floor).

Those are a few tips off the top of my head. Hope they help!

[Celeste Stewart]

Ooh, one more: "something" (also applies to "thing" and other vague words).

In my example above, I used "Something is bothering me" as an alternative to "There is something bothering me." But, "something" is vague. How about: "Your attitude bothers me" or "My allergies are bothering me."

Proofread with word count in mind, not once, but several times, and you'll be amazed at how many words you can cut!