Before Breakfast Second Cup: Make it shorter, make it better
Sep 27, 2025
Discover how cutting unnecessary words can dramatically improve your writing. The host shares personal anecdotes about how strict word counts at USA Today and Reader's Digest honed her brevity skills. Practical tips are provided on eliminating extraneous phrases and passive voice. Aiming to reduce your writing by 10–15% can enhance your editing abilities. Join the conversation by sharing feedback and tips on social media!
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Trim Writing To Improve Clarity
- Give your writing a haircut by cutting unnecessary words to make it clearer and more readable.
- Aim to reduce length by about 10–15% to sharpen phrasing and improve flow.
Learning Brevity At Big Publications
- Laura describes her early gigs at USA Today and Reader's Digest, publications that forced brevity in writing.
- Those constraints taught her to craft tighter theses suited to shorter pieces.
Cut Fillers And Use Precise Verbs
- Hunt for extraneous throat-clearing phrases and replace long phrases with precise words like 'ambled' or 'sprinted'.
- Axe passive voice and keep sentences that do the heavy explanatory work only.