Keeping it Short in Your Writing
by Jill Earl
With numerous versions of the ’25 Random Things’ craze online, you may be ready to deck the next person tagging you to participate! Instead of resorting to violence, cast your eyes upon this creative take for writers.
Roy Peter Clark, author, and long-time faculty member of The Poynter Institute, came up with ’25 Non-Random Things About Writing Short’, a handy list of steps to short writing. What I really liked about Mr. Clark’s piece was the emphasis on getting rid of excess to keep your writing short and tight, while keeping things light.
One of my favorite tips is number 12: Imagine a short piece from the get-go. Conceive a sonnet, not an epic. I’m visualizing nuggets instead of a whole chicken here.
How about using a journal specifically for your short writing? That’s tip number one and will be created shortly.
You can also find inspiration from quotes of a few writers on the list, such as number 22 from Mark Twain: “You may need more time, not less, to write something good and short.”
For the rest of the list, direct your eyes here: https://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=158294
Keeping it short in my writing. Okay, I’m on it!
With numerous versions of the ’25 Random Things’ craze online, you may be ready to deck the next person tagging you to participate! Instead of resorting to violence, cast your eyes upon this creative take for writers.
Roy Peter Clark, author, and long-time faculty member of The Poynter Institute, came up with ’25 Non-Random Things About Writing Short’, a handy list of steps to short writing. What I really liked about Mr. Clark’s piece was the emphasis on getting rid of excess to keep your writing short and tight, while keeping things light.
One of my favorite tips is number 12: Imagine a short piece from the get-go. Conceive a sonnet, not an epic. I’m visualizing nuggets instead of a whole chicken here.
How about using a journal specifically for your short writing? That’s tip number one and will be created shortly.
You can also find inspiration from quotes of a few writers on the list, such as number 22 from Mark Twain: “You may need more time, not less, to write something good and short.”
For the rest of the list, direct your eyes here: https://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=158294
Keeping it short in my writing. Okay, I’m on it!
Labels: Jill Earl, Roy Peter Clark, short writing, writing, ’25 Non-Random Things About Writing Short'
