Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when you're writing, making something shorter almost
Speaker 1: always makes it better. So give your writing a haircut
Speaker 1: and your readers will be happier to read what you wrote.
Speaker 1: This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite writing tips.
Speaker 1: Even if you don't write for a living, you might
Speaker 1: need to write reports or emails or articles for industry publications.
Speaker 1: A few strategies can help anyone create writing that is
Speaker 1: more compelling and clear. So my first professional writing gigs
Speaker 1: were for USA Today and Readers Digest, which are two
Speaker 1: publications known for brevity. Paper publications always have limited space,
Speaker 1: and so whatever I wrote the first time would almost
Speaker 1: always need to become shorter to make it onto the page.
Speaker 1: This was sometimes frustrating, and it doesn't work to turn
Speaker 1: a one thousand word article into a five hundred word article.
Speaker 1: You need a different sized thesis for those two lengths.
Speaker 1: That said, turning a one thousand word article into a
Speaker 1: nine hundred word article is not only possible, it will
Speaker 1: likely improve things. Here's how you will immediately hunt for
Speaker 1: extraneous phrases. We all have these throat clearing sets of
Speaker 1: words that we throw in without thinking about it. If
Speaker 1: you are aiming to cut ten to fifteen percent, those
Speaker 1: will go fast. You'll also look for more comprehensive words.
Speaker 1: Walked slowly might become ambled. Ran really quickly might become sprinted.
Speaker 1: Exact words make writing more pleasurable. A subject will return
Speaker 1: to later this week. You will act the passive voice. Generally,
Speaker 1: sentences where the subject does the verb are more succinct
Speaker 1: than ones where the verb is happening and we have
Speaker 1: to back up and explain that it is being done
Speaker 1: by someone. You will ask yourself if every word in
Speaker 1: every sentence is necessary. Often they aren't. Sometimes one sentence
Speaker 1: explains things better than another, and so you will keep
Speaker 1: the sentence that does the hard work and get rid
Speaker 1: of the one that's just standing there acting like it's
Speaker 1: helping a bit. By weighing each word and each sentence,
Speaker 1: your writing will become more clear. It is generally easier
Speaker 1: for a reader to get through nine hundred words than
Speaker 1: one thoud. If the nine hundred words can say the
Speaker 1: same thing as the one thousand words, then everyone is winning.
Speaker 1: Now again, there is a limit on this I have
Speaker 1: seen some amazing work get hacked over the years just
Speaker 1: to fit into a certain space. In the digital world,
Speaker 1: this is all a little bit more arbitrary and not
Speaker 1: as necessary as in the days of print. But if
Speaker 1: you want to learn to be your own best editor,
Speaker 1: aiming to say things in ten to fifteen percent fewer
Speaker 1: words will teach you all sorts of editing skills. You'll
Speaker 1: learn better grammar and style almost by default. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1: That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.