- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson admired the beauty of brevity. He urged authors to remember that the goal in writing is to communicate an idea, not show how many words you know.
Strive for brevity in your own work. Write first. Then edit. Remove all the words you can live without and still tell your story. Does your piece still make sense? Are your ideas clearly communicated? Then, your editing works. You are "tightening your writing."
Tweeting is a good exercise in brevity. Just think how much information can be conveyed in 140 characters or less. Remember that when it's time to revise.
Always write with an open heart. Never limit yourself in the first draft. However, keep Jefferson's words present as you edit. After all, he helped write the Declaration of Independence, the document establishing the right to be an independent nation, using less than fourteen hundred wisely selected words!
22 comments:
Brevity is necessary when everyone is crushed for time. But there is a point where brevity spoils the result, when one must interpret. The skill of being precise or specific is important when using brevity.
Good word for B.
Brevity is a tightrope to walk as D.G. points out. Excellent post!
Excellent post! Brevity is so important whenever we are doing something we love. I always say to be brave and try something new whenever we're writing. It's the only way to go. :)
Another quote I like from Mark Twain" "If it sounds like writing, re-write."
Love, love, and love this post!
Love, love, and love this post!
Too much brevity and your story loses something. It becomes a caricature of a tale. You have to be very careful when you edit that you don't take out too much. But the proper balance can be reached if you work at it.
"Brevity is the soul of wit."
"I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have time."
The first is Shakespeare, the second Twain? The goal isn't to edit it back down to an outline, but to use only the words needed. I recently did a post on this, as a review of Roy Peter Clark's Writing Short.
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2014/03/progressive-book-club-writing-short.html
So very true. Brevity makes the Gettysburg Address a masterpiece, even today.
Hi, Sylvia. Did not know this about Jefferson. Someone else said "Less is more" and I have always tried to remember this in my writing.
Shells–Tales–Sails
This is a great post, and an interesting "B". Thank you, I enjoyed reading it.
Great post! Writing short stories has taught me a lot about this. My novels are now more tightly written because I practiced with shorter tales.
Thanks for stopping by Untethered Realms today!
Great advice. It seems there's a lot of excess words out there these days.
Rita A to Z 1896
Great choice for a B word, but I may be biased!
Being brief has never been my strong suit. I have, however, begun to edit down pieces of my writing over time a lot more than I ever used to. Perhaps a little more practice and it will just come naturally. Then again, the editing process exists for a reason :)
Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink
Very inspiring quote.. How fittingly I visit your blog on a day you post about brevity ! Thanks for the comment on my 6-word story.. Jefferson inspires a lot
GS at Moontime Tunes
Good advice. I find it helps me to put a piece away for a few days and come back and read it with fresh eyes. Sometimes I'm quite surprised at the errors that jump out at me.
Don't overextend in writing, got it!
B for brevity. Love it. :-)
Heh. You're absolutely right.
Brevity sure doesn't come as naturally to most writer as it should. I posted about brevity in science-fiction, because it's such an important thing and yet so painfully neglected. :)
- Vero
I wrote a post titled "Don't Waste Words" a few months ago on just this subject. "Brevity is the soul of wit."
Oh, I like that sentiment! My editing life is spent in the pursuit of word elimination.
What great advice! I learned this painful lesson while writing many papers in college. It's so true. No reason to go on and on. Just effectively and concisely state your point and move on.
Thanks for checking out my Egg Bread post on the A to Z Challenge!
http://www.thingsmymothertaught.com
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