“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”
John Jakes
Another badge of honor today (rejection) but another submission as well. I recently entered a very short essay contest 250 words. I wrote it quickly and it turned out to be 400 words, so I had to whittle it down to 250. As I edited it I realized how much better it was at 250 words because it didn’t have any extraneous words. Are you guilty of this…adding too much filler and not enough substance. Writing tight allows you to filter out the extra and let each sentence shine.
1. Freewrite or write quickly on your subject and then edit.
2. Write shorter sentences. Too many long sentences will bore a reader. Variety makes for interesting reading.
3. Watch for unnecessary adverbs or adjectives.
Need more tips.
Today, take a piece of writing that’s ready for editing and apply some or all of these tips and then read your word aloud. Is it stronger, tighter writing? What you don’t have a piece of writing ready for edit? Set the timer for 15 minutes and write about the best Christmas present you ever received. Now get back to work!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag