Are you trying to figure out what can help you remove clutter from your writing?
Writing is one of the most lucrative and flexible jobs you can find – if you learn to do it well, that is.
The problem? Too many authors look at the quantity of their words (rather than the quantity) as a benchmark of success.
That’s why, in today’s post, we’re going to look at what can help you remove clutter from your writing.
But first, let’s get clear on why it’s so important to make your writing concise.
Clutter is when you put too much into your writing.
It’s a problem because readers will only see enough of what you have to offer if they stick around long enough.
Many won’t, though.
You need to know how to make your readers want to keep reading.
Saying something in an awkward way can confuse the reader or cause them to lose interest in your content. You need to make sure that you don’t use awkward wording, and that you also manage your syntax correctly.
Remember, clean writing is ALWAYS more persuasive than complex writing.
I bet a lot of people reading this will be thinking: “Sure, but that’s easier said than done.”
True – but it IS something you can learn quickly if you know the right strategies. The key is to learn the most common mistakes that will cause your readers to ignore you.
If your writing isn’t concise enough to meet the new standards of readability and understanding, then you shouldn’t expect people to spend their precious time struggling through your complicated words.
So the question remains: What can help you remove clutter from your writing?
Let’s turn our attention to the 11 strategies you can start using for cleaner writing today.
Before you start writing, a draft outline will help you organize your ideas and prevent them long tangents. Write headings for each section with descriptions. With a clear picture of what to write, you won’t be tempted to stray from the plan.
There’s an old saying a former professor taught me once that applies here: “Figure out exactly what you want to say, then say only that.
Keep jargon to a minimum. Readers are turned off by the overuse of technical terms, words they don’t understand and industry “buzzwords.” Replace these with words that are easy to comprehend.
Otherwise, you’ll end up with sentences that aren’t fully optimized for the synergistic wording that you need for higher conversions.
(Or, in other words, your sentences won’t be persuasive.)
Content that is successful will be clear, simple to understand, and succinct. Don’t try to communicate too many ideas at once or wander through your points before you make them. If you take too long identifying the main thrust of what you’re writing, readers will think they won’t find the information they want.
In shot, give an example or evidence, then summarize or conclude. This format is used in schools and understandable for anyone.
Long sentences may not be able to convey all of their ideas because there is no pause for the reader to absorb important information. Putting periods where people naturally pause can improve this issue.
Start by looking at your comma-heavy sentences, or if they are not a list, these will likely be good places to start adding breaks.
For every sentence you write, think about if there are words that can be removed. Focus on using the fewest amount of words to get your point across and make it easy for readers to grasp what you’re saying.
Start with shorter paragraphs.
Readers should not have to read a page before finding what they are looking for; rather, it needs to be obvious where information is. Structure your content in a way that provides this, by keeping paragraphs short and concise.
Contractions make for more personal and friendly writing, saving space and getting rid of formal language that may alienate readers.
There are three rules to keep in mind for contractions.
First, don’t use contractions in formal writing.
Second, use contractions sparingly because too many of them may sound strange to your readers and distract from the meaning of what you’re trying to say.
Third, avoid using double negatives that result from putting two words together into a contraction (no, not, etc.).
Modifiers are those descriptive words and phrases used in sentences to add extra detail about a subject, such as adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and even other clauses.
The problem is the unnecessary ones can clutter your writing, making it wordy and difficult to read. Examine each one and ask if it’s necessary to the meaning of your sentence.
If it isn’t, cut it out.
A good example of this (though not a rule) is when you’re tempted to say “In other words…”
Nine times out of ten, anything after the phrase “in other words” is the phrase you should’ve written and stuck with from the start.
Punctuation can be used to improve the flow and rhythm of your content, but overuse will result in choppy sentences.
If you find yourself using extra punctuation (such as colons, semicolons or dashes) to add emphasis, think about whether it is necessary.
A variety of ways exist for highlighting your content with the use of commas and periods. Underline the important information if this helps you to keep your writing clear and simple.
One important element of any piece of writing is to make clear the relationships between ideas, whether they be cause and effect or contrast. This happens in three ways: using transition words, using a sequence of cause and effect, or simply listing items.
What helps is a list template will allow you to put them all together for easy reference.
Using the passive voice in your content isn’t necessarily wrong, but it lacks the persuasive power of the active voice. You want to get your ideas across strongly, clearly, and concisely, not in a wishy-washy way.
For example, “The ball hit John” is a sentence that uses the active voice.
“The ball was hit by John” is passive and weakens the impact of the statement; it’s hard to get across what you want to say when your voice isn’t directly involved in what’s happening.
As you write, it can be easy to repeat a word or an idea without realizing it. Check if you’re using the same word twice in a sentence or rephrasing the same idea further down the page.
Reading your copy out loud will help identify repetitions and eliminate redundancies. If you’ve already said it once, you don’t have to say it again.
When you’re editing your own work, it is easy to read what you expect to see and not the words that are on the page. It’s sensible to ask someone else to be a second set of eyes so that they can edit them for you.
Creating good content means crafting words delicately and editing aggressively. Sometimes you have to be ruthless with the red pen, but if you take these tips on board and cut out what is not needed your readers will thank you in the end.
And that’s all for today! These have been 13 ways to help you remove clutter from your writer.
We hope you enjoyed this post and, if you did, check out our other resources here!
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