Something I run into a lot, either I do it myself or I see others do it, is that we often overwrite. We think that everything needs to be said, and the more, the better. Or, we think that by writing more, people will “get” what we are trying to say.
I’ve found that the best kind of writing is often simple writing: Writing that takes complex matters and makes them easy to understand. Writing that doesn’t take a university degree to interpret.
If we feel we need to write more words so that what we are saying is understood, then it’s usually a good indication to take a step back and reconsider how we are constructing that sentence. Often, with a few tweaks and removing a few words, we can write a wonderful sentence with less.
Similarly, when a writer feels as though it is absolutely necessary to include everything, it’s a good reminder to stop. Think about the reader. Does the reader really need all that information? Is everything you’re saying in that paragraph necessary to your point? Often, it’s not.
Think about how readers take in your words. Will they get bored when you overwrite? Although everything seems necessary to us, when it comes to editing, you’ll soon discover that an editor may not agree with you. An editor’s job is to refine your words so that what you say conveys in the best possible, undistracted and clear way. Often, that involves removing some words and refining paragraphs so that you have less, but your words mean more.
I think part of the reason we think “more” is better is because we see this message conveyed to us mostly everywhere. We think we need to be doing more things in life in order to have a great life. We think we need to explore more places, make more friends, eat more food—these things aren’t necessarily bad in themselves, but the mindset behind it is fickle because it’s an illusive chase and a distraction from focussing on the things you have in front of you or the things you want to do.
If you want to write and you have a message to share, it would be easy to drift off and start pursuing other things, but what about staying faithful to that desire you have to write? If your writing has plateaued, you’ll likely want to seek something new to distract you from the discouragement you feel about the lack of progress you’ve made. Yet, having fewer things to focus on means that you can likely do those fewer things better because your attention is undivided. Really, less is not a bad thing at all.
Rather than seeking more things to be distracted by, what about if we focussed on the task (the desire, the dream) in front of us and pursued that? What if we saw our words as a representation of life—we can chase after more, but often, less is more—having less stuff in life but enjoying it, or conveying something in less words but it having more impact?
Wherever you are in your writing journey, may you be encouraged today to take a less is more approach to writing (and life) because it might surprise you just how much it helps.
The Editing Eagle 