Do you struggle to write short?
Is your style more Hemingway or Faulkner?
There are famous authors known for writing long, beautiful sentences. It’s not easy. But, either is writing one that can cut like a knife in six words or less.
For this month’s blog, I wanted to discuss ways to strengthen our work by using fewer words.
My first job was writing for a newspaper. Editors expected me to strip away unnecessary words. They weren’t as strict about inch counts in the 2000s, but that didn’t mean I could file a bloated draft.
The experience taught me to write short and precise, a skill I’ve kept with me for all my writing endeavors.
Whether you follow Stephen King’s 10% Rule or keep a list of phrases you overuse—mine are “a number of” and “your own” — a first draft has to be cut.
Editing makes your language more precise and improves the piece.
Let’s examine other ways to sharpen up your copy.
Using Digital Apps to Improve Your Writing
Ernest Hemingway learned everything he needed to know about writing from the Kansas City Star.
“Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative. Eliminate every superfluous word.”
These rules still apply today. You can use them to strengthen your writing. As for Hemingway, he went on to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.
In 2013, two software developers created the Hemingway App. It behaves like the grammar check in Microsoft Word, notifying you of when something (too many adverbs, use of passive language, complex sentences, etc.) needs to be edited.
The app is used a lot by bloggers and technical writers. As a caveat, it’s not perfect and you should always follow your gut when accepting edits.
As a fiction writer, I was offended by these kinds of apps. My brilliant prose was too good for an internet app! It isn’t.
I’m not sure how the real Hemingway would’ve felt about this app created in his honor, but it’s a useful tool to help writers spot their weaknesses.
That’s all it is — a tool.
Pick Up a Copy of How to Write Short
Roy Peter Clark, a scholar at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, wrote a “fun and practical” guide called How to Write Short. He offers suggestions on enhancing your short writing game.
One easy way is to collect your favorite short writing pieces: song lyrics, emails, social media posts, bumper stickers, signs, advertisements, or whatever you can find. They can be used for inspiration.
Another tip is something K-12 teachers stress every day: metacognition. Thinking about your thinking. While reading a passage, scribble notes or jot down questions in the margins. Clark considers “margin writing” its own genre.
Emulating song lyrics and poetry can help with expressing powerful ideas or feelings in a few words.
Do you have a Twitter account? Tweeting daily—with its 280-character limit—is a good exercise in brevity. Not to mention the benefits of being part of the #WritingCommunity.
Focus on Writing Short
Writing short doesn’t mean you can’t produce a long novel, it’s simply focusing on your economy of words. Every word should have meaning and value.
This practice will become ingrained and soon you’ll be debating every word you put down. Sounds maddening, but it’s a good thing.
Start Incorporating short writing practices into your daily journaling or pages. You can always go back and revise later, just stay hyper-focused on precision.
Mandy Fernandez
Great suggestions! I love this. I think every writer is guilty of this at some point – saying more than they should. I was in Toastmasters (public speaking group) for a year and I learned that I had “crutch words” that I used when speaking. Now I’m seeing that is true in my writing too. Being more aware of this helps me. Sometimes I search how often I used “very” or “something” or another vague word that adds no meaning to my writing. I will check out that Hemingway app – thank you. Two tools I currently use for writing short is (1) Twitter and writing contests on Twitter and (2) Author’s Publish, a Facebook page that encourages almost daily writing prompts with a photo – writing a story in six words or less. By using these regularly, I write more concisely (except for this comment. Don’t count this one since it’s long. Lol) 😉
Iris Zerba
Excellent advice that points to simplicity. It gets away from the long Victorian novels where the second half was considered the best half as you are almost done reading.
Ted Mooney
I believe, as the author says at the end of this article, that every word must be meaningful. But how obvious must the meaning be? For example, in my first novel I had a long description of a Dakar market that ‘puzzled’ my editors until I asked them to read the passage out loud. It was rhythmic and percussive, like the market itself. I didn’t intend to disguise the meter as prose, but that was the effect. The meaning was therefore hidden. I had to ask at that point ‘how hard should I make my readers work?’ I’ll learn that answer, I suspect, as I gain more readers. Thanks for brief thought.
Shutta Crum
Thanks for this. I haven’t used the Hemingway app. I’ll test it out
WILLIAM CLAPPER
So true. Few words. More impact.
darrell Crawford
Received a certification from FSU back in 2007 in Certified Public Management. On occasion, the instructor asked,
where do you come up with these; “One Liner Comments” on these topics at hand, such as dealing with elected public officials?
Richard Santo
There has to be mix between cutting short and not especially in fiction. When people are conversing, they don’t always speak in short, concise sentences. They don’t always use correct grammar. Sometimes they’re round about in getting to the point. In fiction a conversation cannot “sound” rehearsed. I’m writing a historical fiction about Harry Truman. If there ever was a president who spoke in short sentences and to the point , it was he. However, in my story, there are times when he’s in a meeting, and I show him as being the opposite especially when he gets emotional about something. He starts lecturing and so do we all. The worst I ever saw for extraneous words was “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”. Here we have over 1,100 pages that could have been reduced to 200 pages without losing any quality.
Just my humble thoughts. So far I’m unpublished and frustrated, AND I’m an old timer.