Get rid of clutter -- don’t be a word hoarder!

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You’ve probably seen the reality TV series “Hoarders: Buried Alive,” which shows the unseemly lifestyles of people compulsively unable to part with any of their material possessions. Well, like apartments and houses, sentences and paragraphs and essays can also become cluttered with too much stuff -- in this case, unnecessary words and phrases.

Revision, the process at the heart of all good writing, is largely about deciding to eliminate words and unnecessary material -- the same way a butcher trims fat from a prime cut of beef. Some of these decisions are easy and others difficult. Getting rid of unnecessary words contained in empty expressions and wordy constructions is easy. For example, as a journalism student I was taught never to use the phrase “the fact that,” which can often be replaced with simply “that.” Much worse was “due to the fact that,” a cumbersome phrase that even today makes me break out in hives. “We went to the store due to the fact that we needed some bread” can always be shortened to “We went to the store because we needed some bread.” One word instead of five is always a bargain. Never write “due to the fact that.”

Other cuts can be more painful, however. These are the beautiful, polished little gems (phrases, sentences, and sometimes whole paragraphs) that just don’t fit in with the topic or focus of your essay. We love them because they are so clever. Creative writing teachers have a blunt slogan to describe the act of cutting these precious statements. They say you have to “murder your darlings.” Anything that interferes with clarity and communication, no matter how lovely, must go. Those are the tough cuts to swallow, but swallow them we must.

© 2014 Bob Dial.  All rights reserved.