Cut the Word-flab

What is wordiness? Why does it destroy reader interest? Ultimately, wordy writing is boring, annoying, and disrespectful to readers. Why? Because it wastes readers' time by making them read more words than they have to. Readers sense wordiness. They find it dispiriting. Note: You can apply these strategies with equal effectiveness to both fiction writing and business writing. We all appreciate prose that doesn't dawdle whether it's found in a novel or a newsletter. Here are seven strategies you can begin using today to avoid wordiness. Strategy #1: Rewrite. Don't expect to cure your wordiness in your first draft. Its purpose is to get your ideas down, no matter how sloppy or wordy. You can start to address wordiness in your second draft. Rewriting is my number one strategy for avoiding wordiness. What is rewriting? (Don't laugh. A lot of people don't know. A lot of people who think they know also don't know.) Rewriting is going over what you wrote with an open mind looking for ways to strengthen organization, sentence structure and word choice. A simple rewrite method: Review each sentence. See if you can express the same idea in fewer words. See if you can combine two or more sentences into one to get to the point quicker. Sound like work? It is work. To myself, I always think of it this way: It's the reason writing begins with a "w" and not an "r." The "w" stands for work. You probably know the expression, "The unexamined life isn't worth living." The unexamined sentence isn't worth reading. Strategy #2: Eliminate words and terms that are flabby. Why write "at this point in time" when you can write "now?" Why write "in my informed opinion" when you can just state your opinion. Why write "here and now" if you can delete it and keep the same meaning? Why write: "for all intents and purposes?" "above and beyond?" "free and clear?" "each and every?" "part and parcel?" "various and sundry?" or "one and only?" when you can cut those flabby expressions and write what you really want to express. Phrases like those add little meaning. They give your reader the impression of flabby writing. And what if I want to say that you personally went over "each and every entry?" My suggestion: Assert that you did that in a separate sentence. Example of flabby sentence: "The team carefully reviewed each and every one of the 1,500 entries looking for ten kinds of common mistakes." Lean sentences: The team reviewed the 1500 entries for ten kinds of common mistakes. Not one was ignored. Strategy #3: Eliminate puffery that sounds as though you enjoy reading your own words. We've all heard members of Congress speak as though they believe they're getting paid by the word: "It's come to our attention at this particular juncture in time… which makes it incumbent upon me to protest vehemently…" Speak and write as though your compensation plan is exactly the opposite: The more words you use, the less you get paid. It's a sure cure for wordy writing. Strategy #4: Focus on the "payload" of each sentence. When NASA was sending satellites around the earth, each rocket had a "payload." It was the reason why the rocket was being launched. In the same way, every sentence has a payload. It's the reason that sentence is being written. When rewriting, first determine what the payload of each sentence is. Then look for ways to deliver that payload in fewer words. Example: The main reason for the dog's aggressiveness overall was his somewhat malnourished state and the manner in which he was confined in a cage most of the time. The payload of that sentence: Explaining why the dog was aggressive. Express it in a simple sentence. Edited example: The dog was aggressive because he was hungry and confined to a cage. Strategy #5: Cut redundancy. What do the terms, "baby puppies," "completely done," "end result," "must-do requirements," "inadvertent accident," and "past history" all have in common? They are all redundancies. All puppies are babies. Just call them puppies. Either it's done or it's not done. Using the phrase "completely done" is a waste of words. All results are the same as "end results" so drop the word "end." All requirements have to be completed, so writing "must-do requirements" is a waste of words. Stategy #6: Cut vague words. They may sound important, but words like "situation," "totally," "factor," "element," "absolutely," "aspect," "type," "nature" and "kind" are often a waste. By cutting them, you can sharpen the meaning of your sentences. Wordy example: The absolutely ridiculous situation he found himself in caused him to totally rethink the kind of response he would come back with. Edited example: His ridiculous circumstance caused him to rethink his response. Strategy #7: Rewrite sentences that begin with "It is/was," "there is/are." Rewrite sentences that claim, "It can be said." Sentences that begin with "It was" or "there are" should be rewritten. Flabby: "It was between 1786 and 1793 that it can be said that The Enlightenment came into full-flower." Edited: The Enlightenment came into its own between 1786 and 1793. Next month: More on lean writing.