If I had more time, I would make it shorter.
3 October 2023
This quote has been attributed to many authors, click here.
It takes time to make writing concise. My first draft of any document is usually long and verbose. This is OK with me - I am just happy to have it done. With each new draft, I try to eliminate unnecessary words and make “every word tell.”
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
Source: Strunk & White, The Elements of Style
With each draft, I review the document line by line to make it more concise. Most documents undergo 5-10 drafts until I cannot find any more changes. For important documents, I put them down for a few days and then come back.
What are your writing tips?
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