Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 47.

On 24/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

We writers share ideas to improve our craft. This series aims to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Joint collaboration: Let’s dispense with the ‘joint’, unless you feel the need for a fix, of course. All collaboration is a joint affair, after all. e.g. Joint collaboration …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 46.

On 22/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

We writers share ideas to improve our craft. This series aims to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Meet with each other: If you’re getting together, you’re meeting. You don’t need ‘with each other’. e.g. They met with each other to discuss her offer. Try: They …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 45.

On 17/03/201612/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Have a great St. Patrick's Day! Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Eradicate completely: When something is eradicated, it is completely removed, so we don’t need ‘completely’. e.g. We must eradicate completely all …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 44.

On 15/03/201612/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Equal to one another: Wordy! e.g. The authors were equal to one another in terms of books published, but she was a better writer. Try: The authors …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 43.

On 10/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Grammar, Word Choice

We writers often share ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim your writing. Readers will value the absence of redundancies and flabby expressions. Emergency situation: Situation is extraneous here, so we can manage without it. e.g. They have an emergency situation at the flower festival; all the petals are falling off! …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 42.

On 08/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice1 Comment

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Enter in: Since you can’t enter out (that would be an exit), let’s leave it out, eh? e.g. Jenny was prepared to enter in the dragon’s den …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 41.

On 03/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Eliminate entirely: To eliminate something is to eradicate it, therefore ‘entirely’ or ‘completely’ or any other tautological qualifier is just that; tautology. e.g. The leader said, ‘If …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 40.

On 01/03/201601/03/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve their craft. Here are some tricks to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the absence of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Dwindle down: Can you dwindle up? I don’t think so. e.g. Attendances at football matches have dwindled down since clubs started paying players ludicrous amounts and charging …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 39.

On 25/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Writers like to share ideas to improve their craft. Here are some ways to trim your writing. Readers will appreciate the removal of these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Desirable benefit: Do you know of an undesirable benefit? I thought not. e.g. What desirable benefit does a racehorse owner obtain from his horse? Try: What …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 38.

On 23/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice4 Comments

As writers, we generally share ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate us removing these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Descend down: I’m fairly certain it’s not possible to descend in any direction but down, so the qualifier is not needed. e.g. The pirate captain forced …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 37.

On 18/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

As writers, we generally share ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate us removing these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Depreciate in value: Can something depreciate in anything other than some form of value? I can’t think of anything, but by all means educate me. e.g. …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 36.

On 16/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

We writers generally enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate us removing these common redundancies and flabby expressions. The recent celebration of love via St. Valentine’s Day, that tacky, commercialised occasion much promoted by florists and the sellers of cards and chocolates, prompted me …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 35.

On 11/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice2 Comments

We writers generally enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate us removing these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Crisis situation: Since a crisis is a ‘situation’, we can do without the word here. e.g. Inaction by many governments renders climate change a crisis situation …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 34.

On 09/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

Writers seem to enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate us removing these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Could possibly: Could generally means ‘might’, ‘may’ etc., so ‘possibly’ is redundant. e.g. Your cat could possibly win the Fancy Cat contest. Try: Your cat could …

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Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 33.

On 04/02/2016 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Word Choice

As a group, writers enjoy sharing ideas to improve our craft. Here are some ways to trim our writing. Readers will appreciate us removing these common redundancies and flabby expressions. Connect together: Is it possible to connect any other way? I don’t think so. e.g. Connect together the multiple sightings of UFOs and you get …

Continue reading Cut The Fat; Make Your Writing Lean: #Tip 33.