by Barbara McNichol Our society loves “3”; we remember things in “3s”; we’ve learned it from kindergarten when we were told to hop, skip, jump and stop, look, and listen. Businesses gravitate toward “3” when they create marketing taglines. Look at these examples: Reduce, reuse, recycle (recycle guide) Buy it. Sell it. Love it. (eBay)…
When “Start to” and “Decide to” Creep into Your Writing
by Barbara McNichol Do you have a habit of starting a sentence with the word “start” or “begin”? In a 5,000-word document I recently edited, those two words appeared 14 times, while only five were deemed necessary to the meaning. That’s a lot of extra words! To be more direct in your writing, skip the…
In Your Writing, Know the Meaning of “Absolute”
This is part of a series by editor Barbara McNichol to provide tips for writing like a pro. Ever heard someone say “his bucket is emptier (or more empty) than mine”? How can something be emptier than empty? The same holds true for all “absolute” words. In grammar, “absolute” means it can’t be compared. That…
Take Extra Words Out of Your Writing and Add Clarity
To Whack Wordiness, Delete Wobbly Words This is part of a series by editor Barbara McNichol to provide tips for writing like a pro. To take extra words out of your writing and add clarity, the easiest approach is to attack wobbly words. What do I mean by wobbly words? Well, they’re words that are…
Cut Word Clutter: Get Rid of Tag-ons and Redundancies
This is part of a series by editor Barbara McNichol to provide tips for writing like a pro. Let’s say you have to fill out a form online and you’re restricted to 100 words. You absolutely cannot add one more word; the system won’t allow it. So you work it the best you can, but…
Writing Tips: Replace Long Noun Phrases with Short Verbs
This is part of a series by editor Barbara McNichol to provide tips for writing like a pro. Ever wonder how to make your sentences less verbose and more direct? This works like magic: Change long nouns to short verbs. Consider the differences in these examples from a manual: “They remain in contradiction with themselves”…