Think it’s impossible to write with a knife?
Not at all. You might even say it’s essential.
Well, to be more precise, no one actually writes with a knife. But good writers do edit with one.
For them, writing involves two separate but closely intertwined mindsets: crafting their message and then cutting away everything that’s not their message.
Yesterday, Jon Morrow talked about why you need to tighten up your writing. Today we’re going to talk about how.
Write for yourself, edit for your readers
Really good writing always begins with the desire for self-expression. Let your mind and heart say what they want without restriction. You’re rough-hewing the shape of your thoughts.
But once the broad contours have emerged in your first draft, you take your knife and carve off all the extra bits. Sculpt your article until the important details are clear, not hidden by chunks of irrelevant or uninteresting verbiage.
It isn’t easy. As writers, we all have a tendency to fall in love with our words. So here are seven tips to help you cut to the chase.
1. Find the spine of your content and stick to it
A blog post is a focused piece of writing — it shouldn’t aim to address more than one tightly focused topic.
Yes, that story about your telecommuting co-worker and her embarrassing webcam moment is pretty darn funny. But if you can’t make it 100% relevant to the point you’re trying to make, don’t use it.
You can’t make your audience chuckle if they’ve clicked away.
2. Cut the first paragraph
This advice is often given to novelists, who are counseled to write a rough draft and then ditch their entire first chapter (ouch!).
The reason? We often need to crank out a paragraph or two before we truly get a grip on the piece and where it’s going. Those first words are really just preparation for the good stuff.
Try cutting the first paragraph or two from your post and see what happens. You may find a much more powerful opening.
3. Don’t over-spice your words
Many writers liberally pepper their sentences with adjectives and adverbs, and it ends up like over-spiced chili. They think this intensifies their writing, but really, it just numbs the reader’s palate.
(Side note: Take a look at the paragraph above this one. Did you catch where it was over-spiced? I didn’t need the word “liberally.” The verb “pepper” and the simile “like over-spiced chili” were more than enough to get the idea across.)
Remember that just like chili, a little seasoning will add yummy zing to your writing. Too much will make it unpalatable.
4. Watch out for “creep-in” words
These are the unnecessary words you use without even realizing it. Two of mine are “just” and “actually.” And yes, it’s actually true that when I read through my first draft of this post, I just went back in and removed several of each.
Getting rid of creep-ins is a painless way to cut the fat out of your copy, and no one will ever miss them.
What are your own personal creep-ins? If you don’t know, ask a professional editor to clean up one of your posts and pay attention to what they take out.
5. Cut exaggerations
Were you so angry that you “literally had smoke coming out of your ears?” Was the sunset “heart-stoppingly beautiful?”
No, not really. Your readers will see these phrases for what they truly are: lazy exaggerations. Cut them from your writing, and use more precise words (see #6) instead.
6. Find a more precise word
Sometimes, we use a lot of weak words when one or two of the right words will do much better.
If you’re publishing a review of your local taquería and you write that “their burritos are really very good,” reach a little deeper into your vocabulary. Are they authentic? Zesty? Flavorful?
Picking the right word won’t just make your writing shorter. It’ll give your readers deeper insight into what you mean.
7. Reuse the leftovers
Ever notice how the best cooks don’t seem to waste anything?
Professional writers work the same way. When they edit, they don’t delete their writing forever. They put it aside and often use it as inspiration for something else.
I’d recommend starting a “Leftovers” document where you paste in your cuts. Whenever you’re searching for an idea, you can poke through it, and something will probably grab you. Use it to start a new post.
You can do it!
I know it’s hard to cut words. We’re all afraid of running out of something to say. But in my experience, that never happens.
Trust me when I say that there will always be more words where those came from, and you will find them when you need them. Just remember to carry your knife with you.
You’ll need it.
About the Author: Michelle Russell blogs about the perils of perfectionism — with and without knives — at Practice Makes Imperfect. You can also follow her on Twitter, where the 140-character limit forces her to keep her knife sharp whether she wants to or not.
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I have to believe in what you said there about the creep-in words. I use them a lot and while I am commenting here, I am already thinking whether some word is gonna creep in and make this absurd.
Hope none came in the above comment
Nice post again.Thanks.
I liked the pic which made me want to buy a knife to cut my long posts.
“As writers, we all have a tendency to fall in love with our words.”
…realizing that alone is half the battle won!
great post!
-Arif
I think Hemingway said it best.
“Write drunk, edit sober”
I have a large leftovers text file. Most of it I’ll never use for anything, but once a month I look at it and get some inspiration for an idea I ditched previously.
EB White would be proud.
A book on writing that doesn’t get enough credit is Stephen King’s On Writing. It’s half autobiography and half writing advice; all of it is very worthwhile. At $7.99, it’s a steal.
From the forward: “This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit.”
I never gave it much thought but tip #7 is definitely sound advice. How many hours lost on deleting ‘bad’ content to be lost forever…my bad. But know I know.
Great stuff and thx!
Nothing better than clear advice on writing. Writing an article as we speak and you immediately helped me regain focus.
I like this idea –
“Cut your first paragraph. ”
This one will really work, but however if you want to get this kind of posts than you will have to practice a lot and time investment will increase as well.
Loved your left-overs point, Michelle. I like left-overs – juices need to mingle longer for more flavor, so it would be stupid to throw it out. So it is with writing; the stuff you cut out will get better over time or rot – surely we know what to do with the rotten stuff.
Excellent. I’m guilty of the “creep-ins”, so I appreciated the reminder.
I do use a kind of leftovers file as well, especially when I’m writing longer reports. You’ve just given me the idea to go and read those files for ideas. Great stuff! Very zesty.
Michelle, Thanks so much for this. Boy, do I need it. I’ll be linking and re-tweeting this all day. Terrific!
I add this step to my editing stage. I eliminate “the” every time it appears. I replace “the” with a pronoun or rewrite my sentence. You will be impressed with your results and so will your reader. I have passed this “nugget” on to several published writers and most wish they could write their books over again. Most poets hate this advice at first since a “the” helps their “meter” but those who are now eliminating “the” are ecstatic with their results. As this posting suggests, write your draft first. Include “the”, then rewrite.
My creep-in word is “half.” Weird, but there it is. Probably because my first impulse is always to write from both sides of the fence.
I’m another one who uses the leftover technique, too. Nothing nicer than having a good collection of snippets that can be grown into posts.
Once again, good stuff!
One of the keys to being able to “wield the knife” wisely is being able to step away from the content and come back to it a bit later. The pace of business today, however, makes that very difficult. I’d love to hear thoughts on how others manage this–while staying on deadline.
“We’re all afraid of running out of something to say. But in my experience, that never happens.”
Obviously you’ve never been paid to write a 5000 word article on an extremely BORING topic, with the condition that you don’t get paid unless you reach 5000 words AFTER editing. (There’s a special place in Hell for editors.)
Trust me you CAN run out of things to say on a subject.
Unless of course you are one of my ex-wives discussing my shortcomings.
I loved the quote “write for yourself, edit for your readers.” It really gets to the heart of that tension between creativity and having “customers.” It went in my quote book, with attribution of course!
I’m guilty of creep-in words
I never really noticed until you pointed this out! Thanks for a great post! Very helpful 
Found myself nodding at ‘creep-in’ words. Guilty as charged. Agreeing on the Leftovers. I take notes regularly for the info that seemed useful yet useless at that time. Usually come in handy several posts later. ^^ Never ditch anything unless you’re 100% sure.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
How to write with a knife, Step 8: Try writing a guest post for Copyblogger.
If you succeed, your knife is pretty sharp.
…and yes, I wrote “PRETTY sharp” on purpose.
Masterful.
Bravo Michelle.
I’m familiar with most of these but the cut the first paragraph rule is a new one on me. I probably need to cut my first paragraph more often. I often get into long preambles before getting to the heart of my writing. I’m going to see if I can’t take my knife to some of these monsters. Thanks for the tip!
Very helpful advice, thank you!
Cut the first paragraph is a new one on me too, very scarey! I’ll try it and see
xx
This really hits home. One of the things that takes me so long to write is lamenting over every word. I am definitely guilty of creep-in words and I’ll be watching for them now.
Thanks!
Love the leftovers idea. I often go back to finished documents to find inspiration. This is faster!
Writers labour over every word, especially when working on that important first paragraph. So if something needs to be cut, but it can be saved for another day – it eases the pain a little.
Excellent article! I’m contemplating where I can tape it near my monitor to refer to while I’m writing. My favorite tips were to delete the first paragraph and eliminate creep in words.
When I wrote my master’s thesis, my editor went line by line w/me changing every word I used into its simpler version.
It flows now.
Now for the blog.
You had me at “knife”, but not because of writing. I actually just love knives and ALWAYS carry 2 or 3. Yes, this is EXTRA information (lol), but as to the post, I printed it because I am guilty of over posting, so I really needed these reminders.
Thank you! A perfect illustration of how succinct works when the topic is meaningful to its reader. I am printing and posting on my wall by the computer.
Wow,
I have really been cracking down on my use of those same exact words: “just” and “actually”.
…that’s so funny.
@Team Nirvana – Looks to me like you did just fine. ;o)
@Jon Wortmann – Immediate applicability–thank YOU! That kind of feedback is immensely gratifying to me!
@Paul Overton – Wow–thanks! (**blush**)
@Anton Kozlik – Wow, that sounds like quite a radical technique! (But look–I just did it!)
@Sonia Simone – I’m half-tempted to make a joke about that. ;o)
@Mike Drips – You’re right, I haven’t. And since this is Copyblogger, even though I didn’t clarify it specifically, I was talking about blog-writing…where I’d hope a blogger is interested in what (s)he is writing about. Sorry–that sounds like one hell of an assignment you had there.
(
@Shane Arthur – Irony duly noted. LOL!
@Stephanie Smith – Erm…I kinda have a thing for knives, too. So if that’s TMI, we’re now in it together. ;o) (I was really jazzed by the photo they chose to accompany this post!)
@Ron Givens – That’s…just(?)…hysterical!
)
Thanks to everyone for your comments so far, even if I didn’t reply specifically (yep, I’m at my day job–shh!–and looking over my shoulder here).
These are great tips, Michelle! Will definitely have to look at them while I edit the post I’m working on.
My creep-in word seems to be “So.” As in, “So how does this work in real life…”
Working on not using it SO damn much.
This a darn good post. I’m hanging onto this one. I definitely need to work on my creep ins. I have a tendency to do that. Need to concentrate on tightening up things around here.
Thanks for the post!
One good exercise for writing is to give yourself a word limit, say 1000 words or less and stick too it! It’s hard at first to cut down your original post but in the end it makes for tighter, more powerful writing. You gave some excellent tips on tightening your writing, especially about cutting out the “fluff” words. Thanks!
Great post. I am in the middle of writing today’s post and found myself flipping from your post to mine deleting creep-in words, and trimming the fat. Thank you for the instant improvement in my writing.
I am forwarding this post to someone at work who is writing a Power Point presentation – I was trying to make this same point to her, so good timing! Of course, it is even more true with the PPS!
As for the tips: I love #7 – I am going to start a “Leftovers” document for my writing!!
Excellent reminders! Makes me feel like I’m back in my college journalism class!
I would argue, however, that there are SOME times when a little “extra” is appropriate, particularly if you’re doing a feature article on a person or event, something meant to tug at the emotions a bit more. But such times are FEW AND FAR BETWEEN.
Awesome post–good advice. As a professional writer and editor, I tend to cut as I write. A little maddening, but it results in blog posts with very little “fat”.
A friend of mine sent me here for a refresher and it was the best advice that he has ever given me.
Thanks master.
Wow. I don’t have a leftovers file. I retain short story fragments (unfinished stories) but not the chunk that I cut from finished work. Good idea.
You don’t appreciate my just-warming-up first paragraphs?! You prefer interesting verbs to those easy-peasy adjectives and adverbs?! And no more verbal crutches?! You are so right. Word count be damned.
These are awesome tips. In grade school and college, students are taught to write more. You get out of school and find out less is more in writing. I’ll be using these tips to hone 16+ years of bad writing habits that I’ve been taught.
This is probably the best advice a writer can get. I send my articles, blog posts, etc to my father because he doesn’t have a knife, he has a editing kitana. Your point about creep-in words rung especially true for me because my dad always finds mine and he tracks his comments so i can see the edits. Very useful exercise if you have an editing resource.
I like the way you wrote this post. I can tell you took great care making it as concise as possible.
I like number two. Introductions should be avoided when possible. Just get straight to the goods immediately.
Actually, I have a lot of “creep-in” words as well. I’m trying to fix it, but I just can’t seem to get there.
Doh!!!
@SuccessfulCatholic, I agree with that. It takes experience, judgment and a good ear to know when to let yourself go a bit “offroad” and when to stick to the track.
I’d say the same for the occasional nonessential word. Sometimes pruning too much can destroy a sentence’s rhythm. It’s all about balance and being conscious, IMO.
@Jon-Mikel, laughing at “editing katana.” Nice.
Good to put a focus on the editorial process, which should be taken more seriously in blogging.
One word we can cut from our writing is “that.” You don’t need it as much as you think. So cut that out.
Best piece of advice you gave… Throw out the first paragraph. I do that all the time. It’s almost always a waste. The other day I cut out the first 3 paragraphs!
Michelle, this is a great article! Most helpful. Cutting the first paragraph is an interesting one. Haven’t heard that before but I’ll give it a go and see what happens! Thanks.
This is the second blog I’ve seen with a katana picture in one week. Seriously.
I agree, and this is why I complain when my professors require papers longer than 750 words. I don’t need that many to make a simple point.
Thanks for taking my side.
@Charles Bohannan – I like that as a bumber sticker or t-shirt for copyeditors: “Hey! Cut ‘that’ out!”
@Jeffrey – I’m definitely on your side. Holding a katana. ;o)
@Sami – “Life, Laughs & Lemmings”? I **had** to click through. And you had me at your About page when you wrote, “Besides, if life gives you a lemming, make a lemming meringue pie!”
)
Oops. Note: Editing is important for other reasons, too.
(And if anyone can tell me what a “bumber” sticker is, I’d be much obliged. **blush**)
“that” is one of the words I was taught to cut.
I took a communication course almost 20 years ago and the most powerful exercise we did was to write something personal in 100 single syllable words. The next day we had to read them and OMG, it was powerful. People were crying over some of them.
Amazing!
@Michelle
Thanks for stopping by the craziness at Life, Laughs & Lemmings. I should note that no lemmings were harmed in the making of my blog.
this post rocked my freakin socks off. I was nodding and oohing and oh!ing the whole way through.
I think the main thing for me was, “write for yourself, edit for your readers.”
CLICK.
That was the sound of a gaggle of hard and mixed-up thoughts suddenly falling into place.
Also the overspiced chili metaphor – perfection. I had a writing teacher who said ‘verbs are worth a quarter, nouns are worth a dime, adjectives and adverbs a nickel’. I liked that. But your explanation is so much more sensual and less arbitrary.
The picture is cool,so is the post.
Thanks for the advice! Time to edit my next article.
“Ever notice how the best cooks don’t seem to waste anything?”
Great tips.
Is that Sonia in the picture?
I need to get a custom mouse cursor that looks like a knife.
Great post, Michelle!
Lots of great advice and a great picture, too. I’ve enjoyed reading all the great comments.
Yes, my creep-in and imprecise word is great. I have banned the use of great in my writing. So it is really great to have an excuse to use it seven times in the one comment. (Just to illustrate the point, of course.)
Realize that I use a lot of “just” and “actually” in my writings as well. Btw, Michelle, any ideas of how to easily find more precise words to replace your more exaggerated words…?
Bookmarked the page, It is an astonishing copywriting resource. Thank You!
Igor
Helpful tips. One more: make sure adjectives and adverbs sit beside the words they describe. In the heat of writing, they can end up in lonely or disjointed places and require more words to restore the connection, eg Bad: I will go to the store after work, the one with the blueberries on special. Good: After work I will go to the store that has blueberries on special.
Wow, I also have a problem of using “just” & “actually” in my writing a lot and have to edit it out all the time.
I agree, especially for those who don’t write too much. Quite often, I find that I get bogged down trying to get my thoughts onto the screen AND trying to write them well. I find it is often faster if I just start writing about my topic without worrying about the quality, organization, etc. and then go back and tighten it up. It generally leads to a better final product.
The problem is that it makes me write poorer for small things like this that I don’t go back and edit, since I’ve lost the mental discipline to come up with a top-notch version on the first try.
Another thing to look for when reviewing and tightening content is the passive voice – your content is immeasurable improved when you use the active voice. Or, I should say, using the active voice immeasurably improves your content!!!
nice technique of knifing the paper… helps to cut off a bunch of ‘trash’
Good advice! Always good to hear again. The creep-ins bit is good advice. Just did a bit of cutting with my rough draft. Definitely flows better after removing these stop words, though using words like actually is part of natural conversation. Maybe a couple in dialogue?
@Harrison Schmidt – Can’t be Sonia. Her hair isn’t pink.
@Kim Wood – Thanks for the great comment!
@Andi – Hmm. I actually (see? there I go again!) rely on a thesaurus quite a lot. Often even when I think I know a good word to use, following trails of potential words through the thesaurus leads me to something even more precise. Kinda fun–but then, I’m a word geek.
The other suggestion I have isn’t exactly a short fix, but the best way to increase your vocabulary is to become a voracious reader (if you’re not already). I also do something now which I never did as a kid or young adult…back then I’d just keep reading when I encountered a new word, and try to pick up the meaning from its context. These days I’m likely to pull down the dictionary and look it up. Again, word geek. But words are my medium, so it’s worth the effort to me.
@Barb Sawyers – You’re absolutely right. But sometimes dangling participles are just sooooo much fun! “After being whipped fiercely, the baker spread the cream over the cake.”
Your advice is really great. My copy has improved so much since I started reading this blog a few weeks ago. Thank you!
I’m a novel writer and find your suggestions true for editing a book as well as a blog. Publishers relish pithy content. Cut adverbs and nouns (pick better verbs and nouns). Don’t repeat. Trust readers to remember.
Thanks for your summation.
Great post, Michelle.
With good writing, less is often more.
I spent 26 years in the legal profession, and as an advocate of clear and precise writing, I believe I have learned well how to trim the fat, especially when it comes to legalese!
I am now a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, and I’m saving your tips for future reference.
Something for all writers to remember: sometimes, you just need to step away from what you’ve written; sometimes, all it takes is a set of fresh eyes; sometimes, you may just need a copyeditor.
Appreciate the post Michelle – always good to reinforce the need to write less;-)
steve
Keeping a leftovers document is a great idea. I’m starting today. I have a hard time letting go of some sentences that just appeal to me and probably not the reader.
I’m guilty of #4, need to stop with use of creep-in words, really!
I was surprised to read about cutting the first paragraph. As well as most of the people who left their comment. Really going to try it to see if it really works.
Michelle, I love this post, but couldn’t find a direct e-mail to reach you. Please e-mail me at roulaa@ragan.com.
Thank you
Cutting into your text can be very painful. But if you put it away for a few days the carving gets easier. The “cut away your first paragraph” works if you feel the need to “make friends” with the reader first and you’re not schooled to start with a crafted lead.
I agree with your “focus on one thing” point.
The best advice one of my former editors gave me – to use whenever I happen to bla bla too much around a topic – was to imagine explaining the story to a friend in one sentence. It makes you focus your idea and understand what you’re trying to tell your readers.
These are some great tips I can use. I am not a very strong writer, so focusing on what I am writing is a must.
Got a kick out of this one! I especially like #7 “Leftovers”. I’m starting to use that one right now! Thanks for these awesome tips!
I once did some copyediting for a client whose original draft was a mountain of redundancy. After I handed him my rewrite he said, “You didn’t do very much.”
“Wrong,” I replied. “You see all that white space on the page? I did that.”
Great article Michelle. Thanks.
This was a great read! Insightful and informative! I printed out the tips so I can keep them with me when I write. Thanks Michelle!
That’s a post well-written. I have to say, it does give me an idea on how to work on my future posts. As I have a deep passion for writing, I intend to make each of my piece worth reading. For that to happen, I need to, like you have emphasized, eliminate clutter. I still find it a challenge to write precisely and interestingly but I’ll keep on trying though.
By the way, the idea of The Best of Copyblogger 2009 is beneficial especially for readers who have only recently “tuned in” to this blog. It helps us catch up on whatever we have missed. Thanks again.
Cheers!
Thanks for a great post — I’ll love sending those in need of bleed right here and save my hot air ~ !
@TheGirlPie