I’m All About Compression
During the last residency of my MFA program, we spent three hours each morning going over our manuscripts. When asked what I would do to expand a fellow-student’s story, I had to pass. “I’m all about compression,” I said.
I tend to write with as few words as possible and often recommend others do the same. Sometimes, the simple act of compression improves the writing. I found a great article on-line from Writer’s Relief, Inc. on how to shorten your writing. Here’s the link:
Give it a try. Shorter pieces are easier to get published. Shorter pieces keep the reader’s interest. Do you have one written piece that seems too wordy? Give the techniques in the Writer’s Relief article a chance. You might just find a gem of a story hidden among all those words.
