A: Kim
Pawlak, Associate Executive Director, TAA:
"I write my first
draft without worrying about how long it is, and then I go through
it again as if it has to be only X number of words. When you only
have so much space to work with, it helps you weed out unnecessary
words, phrases -- and even paragraphs."
A: Andrew
P. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Holistic Education, Department
of Special Education, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato,
MN:
"What you don't
include in is just as important as what you do include. Splash
your words on the page. Write your draft without regard to length
or redundancy. Get the whole mess out there. First focus on and
revise sentence-by-sentence. With each, only include the information
that needs to be there to communicate the idea. NO EXTRA WORDS. Then
focus on and revise the paragraph. Have you made the same point more
than once? What doesn't need to be there? What doesn't the reader
need to know? (The importance of having a sense of audience.) Then
focus on and revise the section. Is there any redundancy? What doesn't
need to be there? How could things be said simplier? (It's okay to
simple it up. Nothing sounds quite so stupid as somebody trying to
sound smart.) Simple words and sentences are the most effective and
efficient for carrying big ideas. What you don't include is just
as important as what you do include. In the music of writing, the
rests are just as important as the notes.
I know when I
review book proposals or journal submissions I sometimes find myself
wanting to yell to the writer, 'GET TO THE POINT!' Many beginning
writers make the mistake of thinking an article, chapter, or books
calls for you to dump everything you know about the subject at hand.
Information dumping results in long, nebulous articles that force
the reader to fish around to find your point - and which often are
left unread. (Short, precise articles and chapters have a MUCH greater
chance of being read.)
This points to
the importance of really defining your question or the focus when
writing a chapter or article. Restrain yourself. Refrain from kitchen-sinking
(throwing everthing in but the kitchen sink). You may have a lot to
say or a lot of really good ideas ... however, unless these ideas
related directly to your question or focus -- save them for another
day. Put them in another chapter, article, or book."
A: Barbara
Waxer, Author of Internet Surf and Turf: The Essential
Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Finding Media (TAA
Texty 2006), Adjunct Faculty Santa Fe Community College:
"Speaking as both
an author and a Developmental Editor, here's a quick and efficient
method: 1) In Word, turn on Track Changes and change the view
to Final (so you see only the edited version, not the edits);
2) Change everything to active voice, if necessary; 3) Delete
every adjective and adverb; 4) Break up any sentence that has
more than one clause and delete any nonessential clauses.
Now you have
a stripped-down document that shows only the essentials. Accept the
changes that insert active voice, then carefully reinsert adjectives
and adverbs that actually enhance or clarify the point. If you're
not familiar with Track Change, reject the changes you made initially."
A: Rae
Andre, Professor, Organizational Behavior and Theory, Northeastern
University, Boston, MA, and Author of the new text Organizational
Behavior: An Introduction to Your Life in Organizations (PrenticeHall
2008):
"I've
reduced clutter by following, religiously, Strunk and White's Elements
of Style. You will never suffer from the 'verys' or 'the fact
thats' again."
A: Barbara
Audet, Assistant Professor, Journalism, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY,
and a Kiplinger Fellow in Public Affairs Journalism in 1999-2000 at
The Ohio State University:
"There is a new
edition of the classic Strunk and White out that is illustrated. Circling these
in your copy is one way to flag words that I call 'comfort zone words.'
My recommendation is on first draft you include them, because your brain
is wired to get that next thought out using them. Just know which words
are your pet offenders. Circle the howevers, the verys, the yets, the
stills, etc. and delete them. Your writing will have so much more power
in the end. You will see these are generally not necessary but we are
taught to use transitions from such a tender age, it is a hard habit to
break."
