KEEP IT SIMPLE

Keep It simple
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​If in doubt, leave it out. This mantra of the newspaper world was hammered into us during journalism studies. The idea probably dates to the days of manual typesetting where unnecessary words really were a waste of some poor soul’s time, putting individual letters into place. Today it may be easier to get your words out to the public – but with ease, comes excess. And our adage becomes more important than ever. We are constantly staring at screens, bombarded by the written word. Under pressure, we skim. Mails become meaningless, messages get lost in a deluge of communication. The more we read, the less we take in.

That, to me, is reason enough to keep things concise.  Sadly, we are not brought up to see the beauty of brevity. From an early age, academic goals are defined by number of words. We’ve all tackled tedious essays, constantly checking the word count, adding in an adjective or ten to pad things out. As if long words and lengthy sentences were a mark of success. 

In the media, however, the opposite is true. The holy grail of effective writing is tabloid journalism. It takes a lot more skill to get the key stuff over in 100 words than it does to devote half a broadsheet page to it. 
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You wouldn’t believe how often I edit sentences where the meaning is repeated within the space of a few words. Try looking at your own work. Next time you write a long passage that feels like it’s losing its way in the fog, examine every word. Does it  really  add to what you’re trying to say? Take it out. The cloud will lift and, sure enough, your work will start to sparkle.
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By Jill

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