“Did you know that the first drafts of
many of your writing heroes are just as clumsy, flabby and downright difficult
to read as yours?”
Whoa, that’s a revelation.
It’s
the editing.
I don’t know about you, but I get my
word count up—then I edit, and nine tenths of my words disappear.
Think of old Strunk and White’s Elements of Style a book the Professor
drummed into us in freshman English. “Simplify, simplify, simplify.”
But, you might ask, what about all those
paragraphs rich in prose, description, scent and flavor you so love?
Yep. Use those. I think of author Rosamunde
Pilcher and her Scottish highlands, and the scent of peat, and grouse and salt
from the sea. Wow. I am in awe.
A writer’s dilemma—“Know when to hold em’,
know when to fold em’, know when to walk away, know when to run.”
Like life.
Here
are a few editing rules I found useful:
- Take out filler words.
Example:
it, here, there, it is, it was, it takes, her is, there is, there will be
- Don’t use wimpy words.
She is
blogging….she blogs.
- Use visceral verbs:
Find out….discover
Think of
a blogging strategy….Devise a blogging
strategy.
- Avoid weak adjectives
Really bad….terrible
Really
good….great
Very
beautiful….gorgeous
Even
straonger:
Dirty….filthy
Tired….exhausted
Happy….thrilled
Editting
is absolutely essential. Absolutely is redundant.
- Commas:
Throw out
the comma police.
Gosh, in
freshman English I was hit with more “Comma faults” than I could shake a stick
at. That made me take out a lot of commas though.
Now I ask
the question, “What makes it easier to read?
I’m done .
Joyce
P.S.
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