Thursday, May 25, 2006

Leaner and meaner

"She walked over to the tree and looked up. She thought that maybe she saw the cat up there. The same cat she had wanted to catch all during the summer. It was a pretty cat. It reminded her of a kitten that she had seen at her grandmother's house when she was just a three-year old. That was a nice summer. She loved going to her grandmother's house. Her grandmother always made lots and lots of cookies, including some cookies which had big chuncy chocolate chips inside of them. But she didn't see the cat today. Maybe she would be able to see the cat again tomorrow."

What's wrong with this paragraph?

Plenty. It digresses. Many of the sentences are awkward. And there are simply too many words. Some of the sentences should be combined.

One of the greatest challenge for a writer is to say what needs to be said without overdoing it. It's not easy, and requires a careful eye.

Good writing requires the right number of words. Not too many. Always try to write lean and mean.

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