The following 4 tips took me 3 years of writing to collect, but will only take you 2 minutes to learn. Your writing will be better forever.
Refuse to use the word โthing.โ
Each thing can be described in more detail. When we donโt weโre just being lazy. Donโt drown the cake in frosting to avoid baking a new one.
Let a device be a device, a trait be a trait, a feeling be a feeling.
Before: โThis is the greatest thing my parents taught me.โ
After: โThis is the greatest lesson my parents taught me.โ
No brackets.
Like โthing,โ parentheses only weaken what you actually want to say. If you want to say it, say it. If not, donโt.
Whether itโs the brackets that are unnecessary or whatโs in them is for you to decide. But one of the two is. At least 99% of the time.
Probability is on your side when you ditch them.
Before: โYou must pass a (ridiculously hard) course.โ
After: โYou must pass a ridiculously hard course.โ
Fewer prepositions.
Many of us need to free up time these days. But time doesnโt go anywhere on its own. Not up. Not down. You donโt have to pull it. You take it. Or make it.
Donโt free up time. Make time. Donโt move out. Just move. You wonโt miss out on the concert. Youโll miss it.
Sometimes we even add two unnecessary prepositions to one verb.
Before: โHe wants to meet up with Sarah in the morning.โ
After: โHe wants to meet Sarah in the morning.โ
Eliminate redundant references.
The reader arrived from your last sentence. Sheโll remember it. Donโt begin the next one with a preposition or injection.
โSoโ doesnโt say so much, โas beforeโ breaks my flow, โorโ repeats the obvious alternative. โWellโ means youโre not done thinking, well, take more time to write.
Never reference the end of your previous sentence at the beginning of the next one.
Before: โWriting improves your thinking. With this in mind, I suggest you write daily.โ
After: โWriting improves your thinking. I suggest you write daily.โ
Weโve known what makes good writing for almost 2,000 years. Often, it takes just a few seconds to improve a sentence. If you want to write a book, thatโs still a lot of seconds.
Four tips, two minutes of learning, but a lifetime of discipline to apply them.
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