Writers often use unnecessary phrases. We lean hard on useless cliches, idioms, and prepositional phrases. But brevity – saying more with fewer words – is usually best.
When writers set out to make a point, they can wax philosophical, growing ever more expansive as they strive for meaning. Ironically, a verbose writer is not full of thought; contrarily, they might be a bit thoughtless.
Wordiness takes up time. It also taxes our attention spans, and serves the writer more than the reader. Longer, complex sentences are fine, but not when they are packed with useless filler.
Here is an example of excessive wording as noted in bold-faced letters:
“In this crazy world, my friends, it is my opinion that all good writing shall forever increase our capacity for understanding one’s message; frankly, it is a far cry from what we tend to see in the writings of so many babbling bloggers.”
Ummm, what? Try this instead:
“My friends, a skilled, concise blogger is more effective.”
Now, we have become efficient – creating room for more meaning.
While we want to retain our unique voice and intonations, we still want to refine the message in its cleanest form. Thus, by removing the clutter words, we gain clarity.
