Today in class, I repeat my new writing slogan: Don’t Waste One Word.
As we finish all the lessons in How to Write with Flair, students know that every single word matters. Each word creates a precise mood and image.
Don’t waste one word. Don’t settle for a weak or imprecise word when you can select a vivid and deliciously specific one.
We juice the sentence down to its best parts. We invite the sentence to do what we know it was meant to do.
I ask students to transform the weak verb into an image and mood-producing verb, and they proceed with flair. Instead of:
The leaves are on the ground.
They write:
The leaves garnish the ground. They dance on the ground. They obscure the ground. They even grapple with the ground. And of course, they blanket the ground.
I actually perceive things differently when I don’t waste the verb. This isn’t just writing we’re talking about; it’s living. I want vivid and deliciously specific, right this very moment.
The words–when I don’t waste them–change everything.
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How’s your writing life going?
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thanks..