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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that when you're writing, making something shorter almost always makes it better.
So give your writing a haircut and your readers will be happier to read what you wrote.
This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite writing tips.
Even if you don't write for a living, you might need to write reports or emails or articles for industry publications.
A few strategies can help anyone create writing that is more compelling and clear.
So my first professional writing gigs were for USA Today and Reader's Digest, which are two publications known for brevity.
Paper publications always have limited space, and so whatever I wrote the first time would almost always need to become shorter to make it onto the page.
This was sometimes frustrating and it doesn't work to turn a 1000 word article into a 500 word article.
You need a different sized thesis for those two links.
That said, turning a 1000 word article into a 900 word article is not only possible, it will likely improve things.
Here's how.
You will immediately hunt for extraneous phrases.
We all have these throat-clearing sets of words that we throw in without thinking about it.
If you are aiming to cut 10-15%, those will go fast.
You'll also look for more comprehensive words.
Walked slowly might become ambled.
Ran really quickly might become sprinted.
Exact words make writing more pleasurable.
A subject we'll return to later this week. you will axe the passive voice.
Generally, sentences where the subject does the verb are more succinct than ones where the verb is happening and we have to back up and explain that it is being done by someone.
You will ask yourself if every word in every sentence is necessary.
Often they aren't.
Sometimes one sentence explains things better than another.
And so you will keep the sentence that does the hard work and get rid of the one that's just standing there acting like it's helping a bit.
By weighing each word in each sentence, your writing will become more clear.
It is generally easier for a reader to get through 900 words than 1,000.
If the 900 words can say the same thing as the 1,000 words, then everyone is winning.
Now again, there is a limit on this.
I have seen some amazing work get hacked over the years just to fit into a certain space.
In the digital world this is all a little bit more arbitrary and not as necessary as in the days of print.
But if you want to learn to be your own best editor, Aiming to say things in 10 to 15 fewer words will teach you all sorts of editing skills.
You'll learn better grammar and style almost by default.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Hey, everybody.
I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at beforebreakfastpod.
That's B-E, the number four, then breakfast, P-O-D.
You can also shoot me an email at beforebreakfastpodcast at iheartmedia.com.
That before breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much.
I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Radio.
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