TRIM THE FAT IN YOUR WRITING

According to Richard Palmer, "bad style and bad writing usually stem from things which should have been jettisoned rather than the absence of things which should have been included." In his book Write in Style: A Guide to Good English (London: Spon Press, 1993), 70, he identifies "the accumulated junk that disfigures our language" and explains how to "Fight the Flab."

For example, says Palmer, "we all waffle sometimes in speech."  But in writing, waffling "is another thing altogether and must always be avoided. The diagnosis is simple and the remedy brutal. Writers waffle when they have nothing to say and/or no control over their material: this is the result of pure ignorance, and the only cure is to stop writing, go back to one's books and do some more preparatory work."

Another "major threat to the writer’s command," he notes, "is padding. Padding is any word, phrase or structure which does no real work or damages impact and tempo. It can seriously weaken prose which is essentially sound, where the writer does not know what he/she is doing; if the writing is not kept taut, it can reach a stage where muscle and sinew disappear."

"Surplus fat" is one type of "padding to avoid." Palmer says, "Surplus fat refers either to words and structures that are superfluous by definition or to once-muscular expressions that have lost sheen and power." Another is "deliberate fleshiness...(which is) the calculated, even cynical use of complex structures and highly sophisticated vocabulary. Sometimes such a style is employed to impress; at others it is used to intimidate; and on occasion it is designed to conceal, which is worst of all."

Palmer describes several examples of bloat – such as tautologies (expressions "in which at least one of the words is redundant"), "useless qualifiers," "leaden lead-ins," "unnecessary complexity," and "clichés," – and explains how to eliminate them from your writing.  Check out these and other tips to "Fight the Flab" in your writing.