1.Plan ahead. This will help you decide how long your piece will be and how much information to include.
2. Write a “listicle.” Listicles are numbered lists just like this one. Your title usually covers the number of items in the article, and then you just need to elaborate slightly to flesh out those concepts.
3. Brevity. If your online piece is longer than 500 to 1,000 words, consider breaking it down into a series in your e-newsletter or in your blog posts. This will help you keep each article short.
4. Don’t use two words when one will do. Examples include qualifiers (“very,” “pretty,” etc.), redundancies (“oval in shape”) and words and phrases that merely repeat what has already been written (“tiny little bit”).
5. Set a total word count and keep it. If you want a 500-word piece, a short list is great, or you can cover just one or two key points in the piece overall.
Quotes
“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.” ~ Truman Capote
Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.
Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com