On Editing and Writing More Better

For tighter writing, weigh your words.

I could have written that sentence in a host of other ways with minor variations in meaning, such as...

• If you want to tighten your writing, word choice is monumentally important.
• If you want tighter writing, choose your words carefully.
• Deciding on what words to use is arguably the hardest part of writing concisely.
• Concise writing requires conscious word choices.
• Lingual efficiency forces you to consider each word to make sure every one carries its own weight.
• For tighter writing, weigh your words.

The open-endedness of language means we have infinite options for expressing a single idea. If they're all technically correct, how do we choose one combination of words over the rest? What does "good writing" or "concise writing" actually mean? How can I write more effectively?

Me. In a tie. A rare
enough occurrence
to photograph.

Hi. I'm Wombat, and I edit games. I don't claim to be the be-all and end-all of language usage. I have my writing quirks which fly in the face of Strunk & White, but I've learned a great deal since working as a newspaper proofreader back in high school.

I'll share my pet peeves and various advice I've received over the years to help you clean up your writing, focusing on one specific writing issue per article. I'll tailor most of the suggestions and examples to RPG writing, but many of the tips and tricks I give apply to any prose or technical writing. I may stray into some editing topics, but ultimately I want to make you a better writer. Why? Laziness. The better writing skills you have, the easier time I'll have editing your work.

Since I like cover pages which collect article links, I'll update this page as I publish new articles or come up with titles for future articles. If you have a topic you want me to write about, I'm all ears. Thanks for reading!

• Focus Your Intent - What isn't your article about?
• An Editing Example - With John Adamus and myself.
• I'm Of Two Minds - Editing with your whole brain.
• "To Be" Or Not "To Be"? - From existence to action.
• What Is Writing? - "Telepathy, of course."
• On Perspective and Fresh Eyes - Yay, vacation!
• Know Your Audience - Or at least assume wisely.
• The Police Blotter Exercise - Cut to the story's core.
• Compulsively Using Adverbs
• Prose Au Poivre, Using Commas, Like Pepper
• On Editorial Scope