Harmony at Writer in the Making has tagged me for the meme "Go Green - Recycle a Post." I chose the one below on the basis of its title ("Short and Sweet") and its potential to help other writers. Here goes... I just finished up some front of book pieces (FOBs) during downtime at the airport. Each one has a maximum of 250 words, so it’s been quite an exercise in word economy. I figured out how to pack the most punch with the least words by using these techniques.
1. Avoid transitions with a chart or list. If I were writing this in narrative form, I'd probably use phrases like "another way to... " and "you can also... " A list makes these phrases unnecessary. If you're comparing two or more things (brands of lipstick, types of writing, etc.) , a chart can work.
2. Minimize modifiers. Even articles like “an” and “the” aren’t always necessary. A stronger verb often replaces an adverb. And adjectives like “gorgeous” and “fantastic” are fine for blog posts but unneeded in shorter pieces.
3. Beware prepositions. I originally wrote “watch out for,” but “beware” is more concise. When I reread my first draft, I realized that I was wasting a lot of space with pesky little prepositions like "on top of" and "during this period," so those were the first to go.
4. Use the second person (if appropriate). Since my FOBs (and this blog post) are instructive, the implied "you" stands in for the subject.5. Shorten subtitles. I didn't think of this when I was contacting authors for sources, but long wordy titles are a huge waste of space. I axed anything after the colon, so that When in Rome: 1001 ways to make the most of your first college study abroad experience would read When in Rome (I totally made that one up, don't search for it on Amazon). Sorry, authors!Now I'd like to tag Jenny, Beth, and Rachel. You're next!