Four Tips for Concise Writing

Many writers, especially new ones, use more words than are strictly necessary. I understand the temptation to write complicated sentences with fancy words, but my job as an editor is to cut out wordiness and leave your writing as concise as possible. And while it's not the word count that determines the quality of the writing, two well-chosen words are often more powerful than ten circuitous ones.

​Here are four tips to help you overcome common barriers to concise, compelling writing.

1. Reduce filtering language
Filter words strain the action through the narrator's mind before it reaches the reader. These words, such as felt or realized, aren't bad in and of themselves. Sometimes you want to call attention to the experience of an event rather than the event itself. But filter words can distance the reader from the story if used unnecessarily. One solution is to use more concrete language focused on the action. Let's look at an example.

He saw her walking toward him. As she got closer, he realized she was crying.

In this example, the focus is on the point-of-view character's perception of what is happening. It reminds the reader that everything we experience is being filtered through him. If that's not the intention, we might rewrite it like this:

She approached him, the tears on her cheeks glistening in the lamplight.

This version not only contains fewer words but also puts the focus on the action without filtering it through the narrator's perception.

2. Use strong verbs
Strong writers use strong verbs. Letting a weak verb, such as is or would, support the action leads to a weak sentence. Instead, look for finite verbs that can handle the heavy lifting. Let's look at a few examples.

Weak: We would go to the library every Tuesday.
Stronger: We went to the library every Tuesday.

Weak: The man's victory at the competition was the result of his excellent dancing.
Stronger: The man's excellent dancing won him the competition.

Weak: There was an argument between the girls.
Stronger: The girls argued.

3. Eliminate redundancies and circumlocutions
If you find yourself writing lengthy descriptions, you are probably falling prey to either redundancy or circumlocution.

Redundancy is the needless repetition of a word, phrase, or idea. For example, an unexpected surprise is redundant because all surprises are unexpected. Similarly, saying He screamed loudly is redundant because a scream, by definition, is loud.

Circumlocution is the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea when fewer will suffice. If you have emotions that are distressing, you have distressing emotions. And if something will happen in the not too distant future, then it will happen soon.

Evaluate long passages in your writing and ask yourself if there is a simpler way to convey what you want to say.

4. Transform passive voice into active voice
When the subject of a sentence is actually the object being acted upon, that sentence is in the passive voice. You may have heard that you can determine if a sentence is in the passive voice if you can add by zombies to the end of it and still have a coherent sentence.

This is great advice for spotting the passive voice, but how do you fix it? Simple! Instead of having the action be performed by zombies, switch the sentence around so that the zombies perform the action.

Passive: The curtains were thrown open (by zombies).
Active: Zombies threw open the curtains.

Keep in mind that passive voice is useful when the person doing an action is unknown or unimportant or when you want to intentionally leave the subject out of the spotlight. But in many cases, you'll want to make your sentences active by ensuring that the subject is the one performing the action.

It's difficult to spot things like redundancies and filtering language in your own writing, but a trained editor offers invaluable assistance. If you'd like help making your writing more concise, get in touch with me. Let's make your writing stronger together!