Writing Articles (Part 18 of 21)

Polish the article again.

You've edited once and you're finished.

I doubt it.

Keep editing and revising it until you know you can’t make it better.

Look for redundancies. Most writers tend to overwrite and to say the same thing three or four times with different words. In print, you need to say something only once (unless you're using it as a literary device). Therefore, when you polish, aim for brief articles and short chapters.

Today, articles run 800 to 1800 words and if you stay below 1200 words, you're probably about right. Chapters have also gotten shorter. For an example, look at the novels of James Patterson. None of his chapters takes up more than five pages. Each is one scene, and a decade ago editors would have combined several of them into a single chapter. Patterson caters to the byte-size generation and his books consistently hit the best-seller lists.

My writing may not hit the best-seller lists, 

but I can make it the best writing I'm capable of producing. 

And if it's my best, that's good enough—for now.

Writing Articles (Part 17 of 21)

Polish your writing again.

I like to rewrite. Sound crazy? Not to me, because I enjoy finding ways to make my writing better. Below are some of the things I look for when I get into Serious Mode Editing.

I scrutinize for clichés, fuzzy thoughts, grammatical problems, poor word choice, and favorite words I've used too often. I ask myself: Have I written with a logical progression? Too many writers touch on a topic and four paragraphs later go back to the same point.

Another thing, I read the final sentence of a paragraph and the first of the next to see if I've made good transitions. If you read the two previous sentences, you'll see that by starting this paragraph with "another thing," I made a transition. You had no trouble following my thoughts.

I get rid of clutter, such as redundancies and laborious phrases. A good rule is that if I can think of a simpler word, I use it in place of a long word. We write to communicate, not to impress.

I check sentence length. When I get above 20 words in a sentence with no commas or semicolons, I've already strained the grasp of some.

I especially look for clichés. I'm weary of reading those overused phrases. At Christmas, for example, I must have read 50 ads that touted the perfect Christmas gift. Not only is nothing perfect, but the word has become meaningless.

I'll deal with clichés another time, but think of it this way: If it's an expression you've heard before, it's probably a cliché. Find a different-but-clear way to say it.

I will revise my manuscript. Then I'll do it again. 

There is no magic number of revisions, 

but it's always more than one.

Writing Articles (Part 16 of 21)

Shorten those sentences.

Grumble if you like, but terse-and-clear is the mark of good writing. 

Whether or not you think a sentence is too short, in order to write well, it probably isn't too short at all.

Read that 22-word sentence again. You can cut words. Whether implies or not. At all is redundant and you can cut in order. I'd suggest you make the sentence read this way: If you think a sentence is too short, it probably isn't. Not only is the revision shorter, but it's clearer and more readily understood.

When I first started to write, the late Charlie Shedd taught, "Never make a sentence longer than 15 words." His words were a bit arbitrary, but in those days 50 words wasn't too long for a sentence. Yet I vigilantly limited my sentences so I didn't exceed than that number. After a time, however, I realized that 15 makes choppy writing.

Here's how I say it today: "Let your sentences average no more than 20 words." Good writing doesn't demand a word limit on a sentence. Take as long as you need to express a thought. Afterward, go back and ask if you can eliminate words or perhaps make a long sentence into two.

If you write succinctly and clearly, you're one rung higher on the good-writer ladder. You can figure out the antithesis of that statement. Antithesis is a good word, but it may be beyond the vocabulary of some readers. Why not say the opposite? That's another tip.

Good writers cut ruthlessly. 

I am becoming a good writer, so I cut ruthlessly.

Writer’s Block (Part 4 of 16)

I'm not a perfectionist, but those who are seem to struggle with their writing. They simply can't let it go and keep trying to make their writing better.

Fairly early in my career, I saw that tendency to hold on and to continue to rewrite even though I couldn't see anything that would improve my writing. In a month or a year I could probably do this better, I reasoned, but not now. That's when I made a commitment to myself. When I worked on a manuscript (and in those days was part of an editing group) and couldn't find anything more to change, I sent it out. I had to say to myself, repeatedly in the early days, "This is the best I can do at this stage of my development."

Even if my manuscript isn't perfect,
when it's the best I can do, I know it's ready to send out.