Quick Tip: Lose the Adjectives and Adverbs
Whoever said to take the damn hard road was right.
It’s easy to add flowery language to a piece of writing, especially if you’re wrestling with a committee or an assembly line of co-workers who think they’re brilliant writers.
Stop. Go read some Hemingway. Make sure every damn adjective absolutely has to be there. Do the same for the adverbs.
Now, drink some whisky, because it’s good.
Anyone tries to add crap to your prose, you know what to do.
Sock them in the jaw.
That’s how Ernest would have done it.
Tags: prose, hemingway, style, business, communications, work, corporate
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POSTED IN: Communication Skills, Quick Tips, Speechwriting, Writing
4 opinions for Quick Tip: Lose the Adjectives and Adverbs
Jason Falls
Nov 29, 2007 at 5:57 am
Well said. When you get to this phase of writing, you’ve turned the corner on halfway there. I’ve been rewriting by deletion for about two years now. And the quality of work has improved. Great advice.
Scott Baradell
Nov 29, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Whiskey’s also great for writer’s block.
Shannon
Nov 30, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Great advice.
Eric Eggertson
Dec 1, 2007 at 9:25 am
The extra words we throw into our writing are usually cover-your-ass kind of stuff. We qualify our statements, or we flower them up to avoid being held accountable for thinking or suggesting something specific.
If you have to CYA that much, maybe you shouldn’t say it!
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