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Change Long Nouns to Short Verbs to Whack Wordiness

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short verbsby Barbara McNichol

Ever wonder how to make your sentences less verbose and more direct?

Here’s a trick that works like magic: Change long nouns to short verbs.

Consider the differences in these three examples from a nonfiction manuscript I edited:

  • “They remain in contradiction with themselves” vs. “They contradict themselves.”
  • “He made an acknowledgment of her success” vs. “He acknowledged her success.”
  • “We get closer to the implementation of leadership practices” vs. “We get closer to implementing leadership practices.”

Study these examples. They show how you can increase readability by turning a long-winded “heavy” phrase into an active “lively” verb. What clues do you look for? Nouns ending in “ion” and “ment.”

Whatever I’m editing, I’m using this “magic” trick dozens of times a day. What a difference this one technique can make! Try it for yourself.

Action: Identify “ion” and “ment” words in your writing, then rewrite them using a lively verb.

What techniques do you use to whack wordiness? Share them here.

Why Grammar Matters

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by Barbara McNichol

Did you celebrate National Grammar Day on March 4th? I think it needs to be celebrated all year ’round especially when it comes to business writing.

Here’s why using proper grammar is important:

“Grammar is credibility. If you’re not taking care of the small things, people assume you’re not taking care of the big things.” — Amanda Sturgill, associate professor of communications at Elon University

What’s the best way to recognize Grammar Day? Spend extra effort to make sure your sentences, whether spoken or written, are grammatically correct.

grammar bookHow do you know what’s correct? Let me direct you to my colleague Kathleen Watson’s new reference book,  Grammar For People Who Hate Rules: Killer Tips From The Ruthless Editor.

This week only, Kathleen is offering it in ebook form for only 99 cents, downloadable on Amazon. This special offer expires at midnight on March 8, so act now!

You can order the paperback version at any time. It’s available at:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Powell’s Books

This is one resource I use often and highly recommend!

 

5 Tips to Ensure Your Written Message is Clear

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by Barbara McNichol

No matter what your written message—a sensitive email, a report, a proposal, even chapters in a book—you aim to make it easy for readers to understand. But how can you ensure what you actually write is what you intended?

Ignore this question at your peril. No matter how busy you are or how quickly you want to advance your projects, slow down. When you rush to action, you risk having to redo, revise, and explain. That doesn’t save you time!

Turn These Writing Tips into Habitsmaking your writing clear

What can you do improve the readability of your message as you write it? Turn the following five tips into strong habits:

  1. Write short words and limit the total number in a sentence. No more than 21 words per sentence is a good rule of thumb.
  2. Include one major point per paragraph and one major concept per chapter. Don’t try to do too much in either one.
  3. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly so the strongest, most salient ones can stand out in a crowd.
  4. Break up large blocks of type with subheads—enough that readers can skim the subheads to quickly find what they’re looking for.
  5. Don’t change the point of view within a paragraph (e.g., switching from a “we” to “you” orientation). When you have to shift the viewpoint, start a new paragraph.

Always Proofread Your Written Message

Most important, always proofread your own message and, if possible, have a colleague check it, too. As you reread it, ask: “Is this exactly what I intended?” If not, rework it until you’re satisfied your message can be easily understood by others.

The benefit to you? You will save time in the long run.

What proofreading habits are most effective for you? Share them here.

How to Get Rid of Tag-ons and Redundancies

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by Barbara McNichol

Let’s say you have to fill out a form online and you’re restricted to 100 words. You absolutely cannot add one more word. So you work it the best you can, but what can you search for in your quest to meet that magic number of words and whack wordiness at the same time?

redundant wordsTag-ons and redundancies (superfluous repetition or overlapping, especially of words).

A few examples of tag-ons:

  • continue on
  • ramble on
  • refer back to
  • open up
  • cancel out
  • follow on
  • send out
  • start out
  • finish up

Common redundancies:

  • grouped together
  • add more
  • still persist
  • continue to remain
  • plan ahead
  • sum total (choose one)

With many redundancies (such as sum total), you’d use one or the other depending on the context, but not both.

Your challenge: Question every phrase you think may be redundant and test each of the words separately. Which works better in context?

Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon. – William Zinsser

For a reference list of redundant phrases, send an email request with Redundancies in the subject line.

What redundant phrases would you add? List them here.

Writing Tip: Address One Person at a Time

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By Paulette Ensign

Writing TipsIn my newsletters about learning to write how-to tips, I’ve suggested writing in second person “you” as if you’re talking directly to one person who’s reading your information.

Whether it’s tips, an announcement, or a newsletter, how do you feel when reading “some of you . . . ?” It begs the question: Which part of you? That writer is addressing the larger reading audience rather than you, a valued individual reader.

It may seem like a nuance, yet writing to one person makes a difference. Not doing so can be a subtle way to distance your followers, that community you’ve worked hard to develop. At the very least, it’s impolite.

ACTION – Think about what details to change in your writing to open doors and close sales rather than distance people without realizing it. Write to one person at a time. That draws each person closer to you and what you offer.

– Paulette Ensign, Tips Products International Founder, never dreamed of selling a million+ copies of her booklet 110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life, much less in four languages and re-purposed into various formats without a penny on advertising. With over 40 years’ experience helping small businesses, corporations, and professional associations worldwide make more money from content they already have, she now lives a mile from the beach in sunny San Diego, keeping her young at heart. Learn more at http://www.tipsbooklets.com

7 Writing Resolutions for 2015

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By Barbara McNichol

 Are you focused on writing your book and polishing your business plan for the upcoming year?

Let me offer 7 good habits to add to your resolutions for improving your writing life this year. They apply to EVERYTHING you write!

Your Writing Resolutions for the New Year

Your Writing Resolutions for the New Year

  1. Write your message with the readers’ needs in mind, not your own.
  2. Tap into the power of three for more powerful prose.
  3. Use no more than 21 words in a sentence for better readability.
  4. Say exactly what you want to convey before sending it to others.
  5.  Read and reread your writing with fresh eyes:
    • take a break and come back
    • ask at least two others to read your work
    • print it out and read it on paper
  6. Keep agreements (grammatically speaking). If you’re not sure, look up grammar rules or ask!
  7. Brush up on correct punctuation. (Request my Punctuation Guide at editor@BarbaraMcNichol.com.)

 Bonus: Match the word with the meaning. Don’t get tripped up using the wrong word (like “affect” instead of “effect”). Word Trippers can help!

What additional resolutions would you add? Put your favorites in the comments section below.

Writing Tips: A Help or Hinder and What to Do Differently

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Do getting countless writing tips frustrate you? Jon Morrow says wear 6 hats.

Here’s how you want to feel about your writing!

by Barbara McNichol

I appreciate the thought-provoking words of advice from blogging expert Jon Morrow in his blog post about Writing Tips.

Read it in full to get the sense of which of his six writer’s “hats” to wear when. Then send me your comments about this approach. Jon writes:

Frustrating, isn’t it? You read countless tips about writing but hardly see any results. Here’s why they’re not working:

Why Most Writing Tips Are Useless (and How to Really Up Your Game)

Did you use Jon’s six-hat approach? What did you experience?

Revising Your Writing – Part 4

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Welcome to Part 4 of my series on practical tips to help you when revising your writing letterbefore sending it to a pro. I’ve also included a recap of Parts 1, 2, and 3. My hope is that you’ve been applying these tips all along, but reminders can always help!

  •  Take the author’s “I” out of the writing as much as possible. Instead, use a “you” orientation that takes in the readers’ viewpoint. You may push back on this tip; after all, a personal story is written from the author’s perspective. Yet, you can still be conscientious about overusing the word “I” and work around it. If you let the entire narrative pivot on “I,” you risk readers concluding “what does this have to do with me?”
  • Write with economy of style. It takes more time and effort to write concisely, but the payoff is an easily understood narrative. Email me for a list of extraneous phrases and wobbly words so you know what to eliminate from your own writing. Use Extra Words in the subject line.
  • Be precise about the meaning for every word you select. For example, don’t use “accept” when you mean “except”—a common mistake. I call these easily confused words “Word Trippers” and will send you a PDF of 390+ similar pairings featured in the 2nd edition of Word Trippers. Request it by putting Word Trippers PDF in the subject line.

Review of Parts 1, 2, and 3:

  • Don’t mix “we” and “you” in the same paragraph or you risk confusing readers.
  • Eliminate the words “you must” and “you should” as often as possible.
  • Get rid of wobbly (not meaningful) words: very, some, much, really.
  • In text, use “and so on” instead of “etc.” (It’s okay to use “etc.” in a list).
  • Consider using contractions such as “can’t” and “don’t” instead of “cannot” and “do not.” It speeds up the reading.
  • Write for the ear. Read what you’ve written out loud to make sure it sounds right and contains no unintentionally repeated words.
  • “Ask myself” and “think to myself” are redundant; consider using only the verb “ask” or “think.”
  • Vary your sentence length; use no more than 21 words in a sentence as a rule.
  • In text, spell out the name of a state or province; don’t use abbreviations. E.g., CO should be Colorado; SK should be Saskatchewan. (Exception: DC for District of Columbia)
  • Rarely use the words “I think” and “I believe” in your writing. You wrote it; thus readers already know that’s what you think or believe.
  • Find ways to use the verb form of a word rather than the noun form–e.g., “Do you struggle?” is better than “Do you have struggles?”
  • Put your thoughts in present tense rather than future tense. “This book shows you how” comes across stronger than “this book will show you how.”

What tips would you add for editing your own writing? Share them here.

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