Readers don’t want filler.
by Andy Scheer
“Vigorous writing is concise,” says William Strunk Jr. in his classic book The Elements of Style. “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary … Continue reading
Make sure you’re on the same page.
by Andy Scheer
I did the writer a favor—by redirecting her to another editor.
Somehow she hadn’t realized her style and mine fall on opposite ends of spectrum. In my class for her writers group, I’d advocated that “vigorous writing is concise.” I’d … Continue reading
Sometimes the humor’s intentional …
by Andy Scheer
As I prepared a workshop on ways to cut flab from writing, I included the standard advice about adverbs.
I said that writers often leave them propping up wimpy verbs, rather than seize the opportunity to replace an adverb-verb construction … Continue reading