Get Me Rewrite: The 20-word challenge
By Kevin Pang, Editorial Director for Digital, America's Test Kitchen
Try this next time you’re writing an email, blog post, article, anything.
Right before you hit the send or publish button, cut 20 words.
Just 20.
I’m not asking you to edit Nabokov, just give whatever you’re writing a nip-tuck.
“I’m going to send you the report tomorrow”
“I’ll send the report tomorrow” (-3 words!)
“We liked those that were lined with rubbery material”
“We liked those lined with rubbery material” (-2 words!)
“Customers more often than not requested the cheaper option”
“Customers often requested the cheaper option” (-3 words!)
Notice: The meaning didn't change one bit. Sentences that sounded academic and stuffy became more conversational. Plus, you ended up saving the reader time.
Just 20 words. Not asking for the world. It’ll make whatever you write easier to comprehend. From the writer Paul Graham:
“The easier something is to read, the more deeply readers will engage with it. The less energy they expend on your prose, the more they'll have left for your ideas.”
Editing is our specialty. See more at MHarris.com.