Many of us, including myself, sometimes seem born to ramble. But when you’re writing, why waste twelve words on something you could have said in six?
Perhaps this isn’t the best pet peeve to mention before NaNo (Padding 101), but waiting until later to mention it isn’t going to make it any less annoying.
An example of what I’m talking about:
Word Wasting: He walked past the rather old and run down establishment and his face showed something akin to satisfaction as he took possession of another traveler’s wallet.
Being Specific: He smirked as he took the young man’s wallet.
Mention the building if you must, but there are still many more direct ways of saying what you want to say.
Be direct. Be specific. Yes, there is something to be said for poetic prose, but not in every single sentence.
1 comment
Jacqui
April 22, 2012 at 12.42 am (UTC 10) Link to this comment
Word wasting can be tolerated in literary fiction (they seem to ramble more often as they reach their big points) but is deadly for thriller writers. We have to keep it tight, pithy, fast.