The key to becoming a skilled writer.

Casey McCormick inspired me to tighten my writing. Read her wonderful posts. Part one. Part Two. Part Three.

Many times as writers, we hear that one of the most important things to do when revising is to cut, cut, cut. In our heads we know this is true. But sometimes, especially if it’s our first novel, it’s really hard to find the words to cut because we like all of them. Our words are like precious gems.

If we’re lucky, we might stumble upon a very helpful list of words to cut that includes words like: like, that, just, very, actually, started to, seemed to, really, exactly…the list goes on. The good thing is that after writing for some time, you start to automatically exclude those words.

After your first novel, you learn to write tighter. Meaning, you can write the same sentence using less words. And not only do you use less words, but the words you use are stronger, more powerful. As you will read many times over, it is important for writers to use strong verbs to eliminate adverbs and use carefully chosen words to elicit an emotion response in your reader.

Yes, words are a powerful tool.

In our writing, words should create a mental image so in the reader’s mind there is a continually running movie. I think the reason writers keep writing is because they are in love with words. To writers, words are like a toy in the hands of a toddler and we slobber all over them. But eventually we grow up and realize that one special toy means much more to us than a toy chest full of junk.

After tightening my prose, I could have written this post in about five seconds. Here is my final version:

As writers, cut, cut, cut: like, that, just, very, actually, started to, seemed to,really, exactly. Write the same sentence using less words. Strong verbs elicit emotion. Create a mental image.

Gosh, but really, why stop? 

As writers, cut, cut, cut: like, that, just, very, actually, started to, seemed to, really, exactly. Write the same sentence using less words. Strong verbs elicit emotion. Create a mental image.

I think I got it narrowed down.

Cut. Write less words. Strong verbs elicit emotion.

But this tightening thing is really addicting.

Cut. Write less words. Strong verbs elicit emotion.

Okay, so here is my polished, tightened version.

Write words.

But wait. One more quick edit.

Write words.

Finally. Phew. Editing is hard work. And the key to becoming a better writer is….

Write.

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14 Responses to The key to becoming a skilled writer.

  1. Heather Kelly March 3, 2010 at 1:38 pm #

    I LOVE THIS!!! So funny. And awesome. I bet can get my whole book down to one word.

    WISH.

    There. Finished. 🙂

    I love Casey’s posts about cutting words. You are a star pupil.

  2. Susan March 3, 2010 at 1:39 pm #

    I love it. (Short and sweet)

  3. Jon Arntson March 3, 2010 at 1:42 pm #

    Nice! HK’s comment just made my day.

  4. Laura March 3, 2010 at 2:10 pm #

    I think it’s the wave of the future. One word books. We won’t even need e-readers.

  5. Casey McCormick March 3, 2010 at 3:50 pm #

    Ahaha. I LOVE this. So. Awesome. I think you just cut the fat off every writing blog post I’ve ever written or read.

    WRITE!

    But it also shows it can be taken too far, if you ever want to say something other than WRITE that is. Ha!

    Perfect example. A++ ; )

  6. Laura March 3, 2010 at 6:03 pm #

    Thanks for stopping by Casey. Tightening writing is hard work and takes a keen eye. And, unfortunately, can be taken too far. It takes time to learn the difference. Clearly, I haven’t learned the difference yet. 🙂

  7. Anna March 3, 2010 at 7:24 pm #

    Maybe March should be the month of one-word blog posts. I’d zip through my Google Reader in no time!

  8. Tina Lee March 3, 2010 at 7:56 pm #

    Brilliant, Laura! Nice, Heather! Anna, love that idea!

  9. Lisa Green March 3, 2010 at 8:08 pm #

    Books are going to get a lot smaller if they’re only one word long! Seriously though, nice!

  10. Laura March 3, 2010 at 8:52 pm #

    Anna – Just think how much harder we’d have to work though to get our posts down to one word and still have a meaningful impact. 😉

    Tina – Thanks for stopping by!

    Lisa – Just think the money that publishers would save and the extra could go to advances. 🙂

  11. Kristen Torres-Toro March 3, 2010 at 11:38 pm #

    This AWESOME!!!!! AWESOME!!! LOVE IT!!!!!

  12. Robert Guthrie March 5, 2010 at 6:23 am #

    True!

  13. Kris March 6, 2010 at 1:16 pm #

    Hey L!
    This post rocks. Just wanted you to know. I know you know my work need tightening, so I need to keep this in mind when I revise. I wish I could use that cross out tool here. 😉
    K

  14. Laura March 6, 2010 at 3:35 pm #

    K – If there is a writer out there that writes tight the first time around, I’d like to meet him/her. Of course, it gets easier, but there is always tightening that can be done.

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