Are there ideas in your head that put readers to sleep on the page?
A writer’s worst crime is being boring.
The world has infinite patience for the wrong, stupid or evil writer.
But no one will read your second paragraph if the first one puts them to sleep.
Now I’ve sent plenty of readers to bed early myself — I’m no expert. But I have learnt a simple practice that has made my writing sharper, faster and more original every time I’ve had the integrity to apply it.
And do remember that idea — integrity. Because ultimately, writing better isn’t about the exercises. It’s about integrity. You have to care enough to write it better, even when know one is watching.
Alright, I’m done moralising. Shall we?
The Shortest Sentence Exercise
1. Choose an excerpt you've written recently.
It doesn’t need to be complete, but should have some ideas that you’re
excited about right now.
2. Pick one of the strongest sentences in the excerpt, but make sure it's a sentence longer than 7 words. Now make this sentence as short as possible without changing its meaning.
(For each step from this point, make a copy of the original sentence before editing so you can access all versions of the sentence at the end).
Give it your best shot. Take a few minutes to noodle around until you’re sure you couldn’t put this idea in any shorter way without losing some of what it means to you.
You might have to turn things around and rephrase them a few times. Make sure it is as short as you can make it!
3. Now remove 1 word from that sentence.
We’re off!
You might need to get rid of a “that” or a “the”, and sometimes you’ll have to break a grammar rule. You’re creating!
4. Now remove 1 more word from that sentence.
Another one!
More grammar rules to be broken. You might consider inventing a word to do the job of two words.
5. Now remove 1 more word from that sentence.
Did you see that coming?
At this point, all the words in the sentence are essential. Eliminate the least essential one.
Remember each step doesn’t need to feel like an improvement on the other. That’s not the point. Just do the exercise faithfully, you can always return to a version of the sentence you liked more at the end.
6. Now look at all the versions of the sentence and choose the one you like best.
It might feel comfortable to pick a longer version that packs it all in, but consider whether any of the shorter alternatives pack more of a punch.
If the sentence you finally choose is any version shorter than the original, make note of the editorial changes you made to reached this point.
Try to use that editorial choice in future writing.
Word, Sentence, Paragraph, Essay
We did this at the most fundamental level of the sentence level.
But you can also apply this idea at the level of the paragraph (take out one sentence), the level of a chapter or essay (take out one paragraph), and the level of a book (take out one chapter).
The Point of the Exercise
This is a painstaking process — which is why writing takes integrity.
But every sentence you publish or submit needn’t get this level of attention.
Instead, see this as practice for a lifetime of writing.
Every time you apply this technique, you are not just improving one sentence. You are learning how words work at the most fundamental level.
By understanding how sentences can move even with their words amputated, we understand the mechanics of our craft.
We learn something vital about how ideas fly.
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