Make it shorter, make it better

Most writing improves when you cut unneeded words

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
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

(00:27):
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

(00:47):
more compelling and clear. So my first professional writing gigs
were for USA Today and Readers Digest, which are two
publications known for brevity. Paper publications always have limited space,
and so whatever I wrote the first time would almost

(01:08):
always need to become shorter to make it onto the page.
This was sometimes frustrating, and it doesn't work to turn
a one thousand word article into a five hundred word article.
You need a different sized thesis for those two lengths.
That said, turning a one thousand word article into a

(01:29):
nine hundred 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 ten to fifteen percent, those

(01:51):
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 will return
to later this week. You will act the passive voice. Generally,

(02:15):
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

(02:37):
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 and each sentence,
your writing will become more clear. It is generally easier
for a reader to get through nine hundred words than

(02:59):
one thoud. If the nine hundred words can say the
same thing as the one thousand 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,

(03:20):
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 ten to fifteen percent fewer
words will teach you all sorts of editing skills. You'll
learn better grammar and style almost by default. In the meantime,

(03:46):
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,

(04:07):
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.
That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

(04:32):
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