Vigorous Writing: Don’t Let Useless Words Drag You Down

I’m old enough to remember when Olympic sprinters wore baggy shorts. But if you look at the world’s greatest runners today, you’ll see them wearing bodysuits so tight that it must’ve taken an entire coaching staff working all day just to squeeze them into it.

The reason: aerodynamics.

In a field where a hundredth of a second makes all the difference in the world, runners will do anything to cut their times. Switching to bodysuits reduces wind resistance and, therefore, drag—although from what I have read, the improvement is much greater for swimmers than runners.

It also helps with your writing.

However, before you run out and buy a bodysuit to wear while you’re typing on your keyboard, let me make clear that this is a writing metaphor. Just as a little bit of loose material can add drag to a runner or swimmer, excess words can drag down your writing.

As William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White say in their classic book, The Elements of Style, “Vigorous writing is concise.” Therefore, “omit needless words” is elementary principle #13 in their book.

Or, to put it another way…Reduce drag.

Here are just a few examples of needless words and phrases that come from Strunk and White and a couple of other sources:

Instead of writing…                                           Use…

“the question as to whether”                                   “whether” or “the question whether”

“there is no doubt but that”                                    “no doubt” or “doubtless”

“he is a man who”                                                     “he”

“His story is a strange one.”                                    “His story is strange.”

“at the time that” or “at the time when”               “when”

“in the affirmative” or “in the negative”               Just say “no” or “yes.”

“at the present time”                                                “now” or “today”

“inasmuch as”                                                            “because” or “since”

“in regard to”                                                             “about” or “regarding” or “concerning”

I recently encountered a blog entitled “Omit Needless Rules,” which takes a potshot at this guideline from Strunk and White. The writer then offers examples that have little to nothing to do with the guideline, “Omit needless words.”

For instance, he quotes a passage from William Faulkner in which a character’s thoughts keep repeating. He uses this example to argue that if you omitted the repetitive words, the passage would have lost its impact. I agree, but I don’t think Strunk and White were saying that all repeated words are “needless words.” In the context of Faulkner’s story, the repetitions were important, and they helped us to get inside the character’s head.

So the guideline still applies.

Another example offered by this blog writer came from Shakespeare, who wrote, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day.”

Here, the repetition of “tomorrow” gives the lines rhythm and emphasis. The repetition makes the writing more vigorous, not less.

Again…This is not what Strunk and White are talking about when they say, “Omit needless words.” They’re not taking aim at poetry where words and phrases might be repeated for good reason. They’re taking aim at useless, blah phrases, such as “the fact that…”

Here are a few “fact that” examples to watch out for:

Instead of writing…                               Use…

“owing to the fact that”                                “since” or “because”

“in spite of the fact that”                              “though” or “although”

“I was unaware of the fact that”                 “I was unaware that”

“in actual fact”                                               “actually” (or just drop it)

You get the idea. The phrase “the fact that” is not exactly Shakespearean in its power. It’s not poetry. It’s useless, and the accumulation of such phrases just slows down your writing and drains it of energy—king of like baggy shorts flapping in the breeze.

For the reader, it’s nothing but a drag.

* * *

5 for Writing

1. Get writing. Find the time to write. Then do it.
2. Learn by listening—and doing. Solicit feedback, discern what helps you.
3. Finish your story. Edit and rewrite, but don’t tinker forever. Reach the finish line.
4. Thrive on rejection. Get your story out there. Be fearless. Accept rejection.
5. Become a juggler. After one story is finished, be ready to start another. Consider writing two at once.