What if writing was like sculpting.
Imagine a huge piece of marble in front of you.
And in your hand a chisel.
How would you go about sculpting a beautiful nude?
First, you imagine an image: a vision of her (or his) beauty, is she sitting or standing? Or dancing? What impression should she make?
Is she voluptuous or lean? Does she have small feet? Large hands? A big nose?
When you set to work, you consider the right proportions first – the length of her arms, legs, torso, neck and head. Then you work on the details – her delicate curves, her nose, her eyes, and her hair.
Sculpting your sentences is like making the light dance around the curves of your beautiful nude.
How to sculpt concise sentences
To sculpt your sentences, you eliminate excess words to create a pleasurable learners experience – your message becomes crystal-clear, and your readers dance through your content, feeling confident and inspired.
Sound good?
To practice your sculpting skills, don’t work on a long piece of text. Instead, work on a headline, an opening, or closing paragraph. Consider writing each sentence on a new line, so focusing your attention on each sentence becomes easier.
This is the process for sculpting concise sentences:
- Read your sentence slowly
- Highlight the most meaningful words
- Rewrite your sentence by focusing on the meaningful words.
Need some examples?
- Example sentence:
When I started my own business, it has given me a whole new perspective to see the bigger picture when it comes to finding a work/life balance.
Now put the meaningful words in bold:
When I started my own business, it has given me a whole new perspective to see the bigger picture when it comes to work/life balance.
The clear and concise version:
Starting my own business has given me a new perspective on work/life balance.
Thought
Many words have some meaning, but aren’t particularly strong. So don’t fret too long whether a word is meaningful or not. Go with your gut feeling; it’s not an exact science.
Also, in the example above, the bigger picture and a new perspective are similar phrases so I chose one, and eliminated the other.
Another example:
I will provide you with suggestions on your performance so you can overcome the challenges you encounter every day while working for a difficult boss, so you can feel less stressed.
Meaningful words in bold:
I will provide you with suggestions on your performance so you can overcome the challenges you encounter every day while working for a difficult boss, so you can feel less stressed.
Clear and concise version:
I help you overcome the daily challenges of working for a difficult boss, so you can feel less stressed.
Thought
Verbs like provide, add and make may seem meaningful, but they’re relatively weak. Where possible, use a stronger verb. For instance:
- To provide comments – to comment
- To add a splash of colour – to splash colours
- To make progress – to progress.
A strong verb – like to splash- is preferable to a weak verb – a noun (to add a splash).
Writing clearly and concisely is a craft
Focusing on meaningful words helps you understand what your sentence should communicate so your message becomes clearer. But it can take some practice and requires some effort.
Best way to do it? Approach it as a game: play with different variations, and don’t fuss for too long.
Remember, your ultimate aim is to communicate and teach with clarity so you can connect with and inspire your learners.