Cut, cut, cut. Cut and combine! That, in a nutshell, is the writer's most important job: the good writer must learn to edit. Why? Don't my words make sense as they tumble from my mind? Won't editing make my article sound stilted or artifical? Won't editing change my voice?
Careful editing helps the writer strike the right note. It magnifies the power of his or her voice, by getting clutter out of the way. Writing is a process, and the early drafts have to be re-arranged for the reader's ease. Writers think of ideas and stories; editors think of readers. At the other end of the writing process is a person who is eager to delve into what you have to say. Encourage and reward the reader by making your article easy to understand and follow.
One easy way: vary your sentence length. Look at the first paragraph. Omiting all words except the action verb attracts the reader by creating curiousity. Cut--what? Than a strange contrast: cut
and combine. Short sentences create suprise, relief, and anticipation. Long sentences have power. The writer who can take off on a topic and effectively proclaim its hidden passions and effects is half way home to creating a shared bond with his or her reader, and the editor must find inside the sentences this same passion and remove the obscuring words. Toss them out of the way!
The second easy way: change words, make new choices. Proclaim in the paragraph above started out as communicate. Which do you think is better? Did "nutshell" help drive the point? What about, "cut, cut, cut"? Short words rest easy in our heads. Big words add heft. New words are like new clothes, they set your style. I sometime spend fifteen minutes selecting a word, using the thesaurus, flipping form choice to choice. It increases my word power, expands my knowledge, and helps me find a good fit for the reader. Worth the effort, I say!
The third easy way: read your article out loud! The mind slides over phrasing, rhythm, and gammar because it automatically "corrects" what it sees, especially for the writer. Reading out loud lets you change places with the reader. Suddenly, you experience what they experience. What once made sense to you is a bit jumbled, a little unclear--it needs variety or new words. Reading aloud is a self-check for all writers, even the pros. It takes the writer directly to his or her audience, and helps the writer assess the quality of his/her piece. Sound boring? Brigthen it up! Sound brilliant? Quickly hit save! Sounds like it needs more work?
Jump in. Edit!
