Applying KISS Principle in Writing

I have added a new word to my vocabulary. Logorrhea. We've all been touched by it. What is it? The Word Spy defines it, "excessive verbosity and long-windedness. Also know as verbal diarrhea."

Basically, you'll see plenty of examples of logorrhea in online blogs and content. Do you read every online or email content word for word? Most people quickly scan such content. Jakob Nielsen and many other experts confirm this theory.

It's best to keep it short 'n sweet. There are online Web sites that require 1000+ word articles. This does not mean running free and writing wordy. Ezine editors require tightly written articles. Here are a few tips to help you ensure your writing is concise.

I'm pretty guilty of using qualifiers. While researching this article, I attended a meeting where the manager used, "basically" in every other sentence. That word rang in my head that I said it while talking with her.

Basically, these qualifiers are the "um" of writing. Like "uh" and "um" in conversation, the sentence with the qualifier says the same thing without them. Let's take a look. Reread the second paragraph of this article without the word, "basically." Doesn't it sound better? It gets the same point across.

Forget the following words: "pretty," "rather," "totally," "really," "quite," "basically," "actually," and "very." OK, there
may actually be situations when you need to use one of these words, but use it with care. After all, we can't imagine life or Elvis Presley without "thank you very much."

I worked for a manager with a PhD and he liked giving us articles relating to our work. I hated these articles. They were written by and for people with PhDs. Come on, you know what I mean. Every word in these papers are at least eight letters long and require frequent dictionary use. It makes readers feel stupid. Remember people are scanning online content and they'll more likely absorb simple phrases. People are not stupid. They're overloaded with too much information. If it's complex, they'll skip it and move on. Besides, no one likes a show-off.

How often have you heard, "large-sized" or "biggie-sized" in advertising? That's fine for TV or radio advertising. For
writing, well, it's wordy. We can lop off the "sized" and simply write "large" or "big" object. Instead of "mud-covered shoes," use "muddy shoes." Dump the "beautifully-dressed" for "beautiful."

When I was a wee gal, articles written by me had passive voice. Er, I did it again. That should be, "I wrote articles using passive voice." The hardest part is to avoid it when you don't have a subject or don't know who is the performer.

In passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb. There are two parts in passive voice: a form of the verb "to be" plus a past participle. Instead, use active voice where the subject performs the action of the verb.

The article was written by Meryl. [passive]
Meryl wrote the article. [active]

I vote for the second sentence. It's crisp.

In this day and age long phrases don't cut it anymore. I read somewhere comparing online reading to a quick shower as opposed to newspaper-reading to be enjoyed like a long, hot bath. It hit home. I'm infamous for starting each morning with a cup of coffee and my newspaper. With every sip, I slowly devour each page of the newspaper. After I finish reading the paper, I turn on the computer and quickly surf pages to get updates.

Go back to the first sentence in the previous paragraph. That phrase of five words could be dumped for one word: "today." Same meaning, isn't it?

There are many online examples on cutting wordiness and wordy phrases. Search for "eliminating wordiness" and you should find plenty of examples.

Time to edit this article and reduce wordiness. Of course, I'll leave the examples for your learning pleasure.

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips.

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

Should You Hire a Ghostwriter?
Have you heard the term 'ghostwriter' and wondered what they do or who they work with? Although it sounds mysterious, ghostwriting is actually a very simple agreement where an individual or company hires a writer to create a work that will be owned outright by the buyer. The buyer is not required to give credit to the writer and is even allowed to claim authorship.

Writers Block - Melting the Ice
What does one do as a writer who loves writing and feels empty of creativity?When the writing process stops, there is the experience of fear. There is a sense that something precious has been lost.

Permission NOT To Write
Quite a few years ago, I enrolled in a Degree in Criminal Justice. My main reason for doing so was my interest in reading and writing crime and mystery fiction.

A New Way To Self Publish
More and more good authors are turning to the Internet to self publish. There are several reasons for that.

Italics Part 2 - Using Italics to Show Thoughts
Way back in your early school years, you were probably taught to use the tag "he thought" in your stories, to tip readers off that someone was thinking. If you substituted something more innovative, like "he pondered" or "Harry deliberated", you might even have scored a big red tick.

Go With The Flow: Write With Transition Words and Phrases
One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day writing is poor logical flow from one idea or point to the next. This usually takes the form of a bunch of seemingly unrelated phrases thrown together with little or no sense of sequence, continuity, or relativity.

Make Your Readers Cry
You know, I really hate it when someone catches me crying over a book.I surreptitiously dab at the corners of my eyes with a finger.

Dialogue Tags - A Study in Common Errors
Verb and SubjectIncorrect:"I bet you two had a fine time," said Ben.When using tags, it's unusual to have the verb before the subject.

Freelance Writing: How Many Regular Clients Should You Have?
This is a tough question for every freelance writer. For me, the worst working scenario is when a few weeks go by and all my work comprises one-off jobs for small clients who never become repeat customers.

Whats in a Name? Giving Birth to your Characters
So you've got your plot outlined, a title lined up and the research is done. You're ready to start writing your novel.

Groundbreaking Work
Every writer knows that the urge to write is not always present. As a result, the dedicated writer writes anyway.

The Writer and the Web
If your dream is to get published, the chance is before you. The web has opened the portals of opportunity to all aspiring writers, freelance writers, established writers actually to all writers.

Basic Word Processing Tips for Writers
Word processors are so widely used now that I tend to take it for granted that most writers know how to perform basic tasks (e.g.

Top Ten Writing Mistakes Made By New Childrens Writers
Okay. So I'm not David Letterman.

Top Ten Reasons Its Great To Be A Writer
10 - You will always have a job. As long as people want to read, other people like us need to write.

Recipe for a Style Guide
Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization in internet, web, and net, but Wired Magazine continues to capitalize these words. Which should you do? For the most part, it's up to you.

Is The Theme Running Throughout The Story?
Creative Writing Tips -It's no use coming up with a theme and not using it. Short stories are about a character or characters and about one situation or happening in those characters' lives.

COULD YOU (not) REPEAT THAT PLEASE?
I recently read a book where everything was akimbo.� Arms were akimbo, legs were akimbo.

Finish Your Book Already!
I owe the completion and success of my book to a big cardboard box that saw me through the entire process. I found this box and filled it with any and all information I could find on my topic 'advanced presentation skills for speakers and business presenters.

Mama Dont Allow No Fighting in Your Writing
When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a spine-tingling horror story, or an action-packed adventure, lock the door. The last thing you need is your mother, father, coach, English teacher or pastor reading over your shoulder and giving you advice.