Do More With Less
In business, the new buzz phrase is "do more with less." We're expected to work harder and smarter and use fewer resources to do our jobs. This is also true with our writing. When you're on a roll, write what you can. Just remember, more words is not always good. Let the words come and then once you're done, see if there are smarter ways to say the same thing.
I mentioned before the author who spent pages describing the red room. Sometimes, it is simply more effective to state that the room is red. Unless there are some details within the room that make it imperative to know, the room is red is sufficient. There are times, of course, when it is appropriate to use the extra verbiage. We don't want to pare down our words too much that we produce uninteresting text, but we do want to make sure that we find the best fit of the words with the circumstances. Balance is again a key to keep in mind.
Being smarter in our writing can sometimes mean that we simplify our writing. It is not necessary to proof our mastery of vocabulary when writing. Save the fancy language for when it is needed, say, in your poetry. We want to produce work that drives the reader into reading more. We can, of course, challenge the reader, but we don't want to create a situation where the reader must arm himself with a dictionary to get through our work. If a larger word is the best word, by all means, use it. If your purpose is served just as well with a simpler word, my advice is to use the simpler.
It seems I'm doing a lot of repeating in these posts. I do apologize for that, however, if they weren't important concepts, they would not be repeated. To summarize and repeat just once more, some previous topics touched on in this entry are as follows:
1. Don't interrupt the flow.
2. Try to achieve a balance, don't write too much; don't write too little.
3. Keep It Simple whenever possible.
4. Find the best fit.
I mentioned before the author who spent pages describing the red room. Sometimes, it is simply more effective to state that the room is red. Unless there are some details within the room that make it imperative to know, the room is red is sufficient. There are times, of course, when it is appropriate to use the extra verbiage. We don't want to pare down our words too much that we produce uninteresting text, but we do want to make sure that we find the best fit of the words with the circumstances. Balance is again a key to keep in mind.
Being smarter in our writing can sometimes mean that we simplify our writing. It is not necessary to proof our mastery of vocabulary when writing. Save the fancy language for when it is needed, say, in your poetry. We want to produce work that drives the reader into reading more. We can, of course, challenge the reader, but we don't want to create a situation where the reader must arm himself with a dictionary to get through our work. If a larger word is the best word, by all means, use it. If your purpose is served just as well with a simpler word, my advice is to use the simpler.
It seems I'm doing a lot of repeating in these posts. I do apologize for that, however, if they weren't important concepts, they would not be repeated. To summarize and repeat just once more, some previous topics touched on in this entry are as follows:
1. Don't interrupt the flow.
2. Try to achieve a balance, don't write too much; don't write too little.
3. Keep It Simple whenever possible.
4. Find the best fit.
posted by Vickie at 10:16 PM
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