Writers often struggle for precision in communicating a message.
Writing Tip for Today: Here are some tips to help make your writing more concise:
Give Readers Direction
A good writer recently gave me her essay for feedback. She wrote with lovely images and deep thought. The problem? I couldn’t tell, until far into the work, exactly her point. When I mentioned that the piece might benefit from a clearer hint at the beginning to set the direction, she replied that she wanted readers to gradually understand what the piece was about.
What would you say? My reaction was to remind her that readers can give up or lose interest if they can’t tell what direction a work is headed. If readers must wonder why a writer is giving them images or info that doesn’t seem to promise the reader much, many won’t stick with it no matter how “good” the writing is.
The old journalism saw, “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, tell ‘em and then remind readers what you just told ‘em” is still solid advice for literary or creative nonfiction or essay. While you shouldn’t hit readers over the head, your audience relies on you to help them point their thoughts in a direction.
Go Straight At It
Many times, a muddled theme or point happens because of long or flowery sentences. Watch any tendency to purplish prose. Be sure your words are as specific as possible. This entails using as few modifiers as possible, avoiding passive constructions and not repeating ideas in a single sentence or paragraph.
A valued mentor of mine used to say, “Just go straight at it.” As we strain to be original or creative, we can cause readers to work harder than they’d like to grasp your meaning. Writing in a coy manner or making readers guess what you mean hardly ever works.
Don’t risk your readership’s attention by forcing them to figure out what you mean. Going straight at it doesn’t have to mean you forgo all poetic or lyrical language. Just be sure you add an unambiguous marker for readers to follow.
Don’t risk your readership’s attention by forcing them to figure out what you mean.
Direction Up Front
The sooner you give your readers a direction or promise, the easier it will be to keep them reading. In an essay, we’ve been taught to give a thesis sentence—the thought of it makes my brain cells want to scream. A topic or thesis doesn’t have to be dry or expositional. Readers only need hints of where they’re going to be curious enough to keep reading.
Soon after a hook or opening, give readers that hint of where the piece is heading. That way, they can prepare to agree or disagree or be surprised or transformed by the essay’s end. You can find more info on concise writing in E. B. White’s classic, Elements of Style.
In fiction, be sure the purpose of that scene (and the stakes) are clear at the beginning. You can allow the character to lose control of their purpose and be defeated or lose something, but make it clear from the outset that your character wants something out of the scene. If you do, the scene’s win/lose stakes will have greater impact.
