For some reasons, many people like to write what their minds and feelings portray. Especially those writers who are to write on their not just because they were told to write or that it is their duty or requirements to write.
If you are writing just because you wanted to do something fun, maybe a hobby or you just want to enhance yourself more in writing especially in developing your English skills more, then you might find yourself writing such a long piece with several pages on it.
That’s normal if you are going to write a story or a novel, any fiction writings or you just write what you wanted to write. It’s fun when you started to make one on your own. However, when it comes to editing and proofreading your work, for some reason you wanted to published it or to submit your content in order for you to gain a lot of readers, there is a little problem on how to finalize things up.
Generally, I dissuade people from editing for conciseness at a word level. Believe it or not, many grammar check software can handle that all on their own – they don’t need your help. Sure, they might miss the occasional word or two, but that doesn’t justify poring through every letter sequence in your 1000 page novel just to find them.
Instead of going that route, I’ve always championed editing from the phrase and sentence level instead. It’s a faster way to work, with more valuable results, especially in the long run.
Condense Phrases Into Less Words.
Most of the time, your first draft will be riddled with many phrases you can shave down into one or two words. Change them whenever possible. Whether it’s because of infinitives, expletives or any other wordy writing instrument, catch them and put them on a slimming diet. Example: A phrase like “department with the best numbers for this quarter” can be written as “this quarter’s best department,” “department with the best quarterly numbers,” “best department for this quarter” or even “best performing department.” Depending on the context laid out by sentences before it, either one of those four shorter options is usually better.
It’s is better to keep it short but then the thought is still there are there is no need to make it long and keep those unnecessary words. It will only make your sentence dull. Reverse it around if you find one.
Review Clauses That Use That, Who, Where And Which.
Clauses prefaced by the above four words (along with other similar instruments) usually deliver meaning that can be conveyed by a phrase. Unless you’re intentionally trying to make your sentences longer, give them up for their shorter counterpart. Example: “The book, which was written by Jason Hemingway…” can be converted as a single phrase as “Jason Hemingway’s book…”
Be mindful enough to make your content an interesting one. Sometimes, your readers will find it boring to read when you create a lot of long sentences where you can even make it shorter if you want.
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