Write more with fewer words

by Ksenia Anske

I'm thrilled to read Isaac Asimov for the first time (yes, I know, you're allowed to spank me), and this nagging thought that's been badgering me lately surfaced again. The economy of words. The ability to say a lot with next to nothing. The poetry of imagining that which the writer omitted, omitted for the reader to fill in. Wouldn't we all like to do that? Don't we all get chills when we read something so profound, so crisp, something said so succinctly with just a few words? I know I want to learn how to do this (especially because I tend to blab a lot), and I know you want to learn this too. Here then. Let me muse on the subject, share with you what I've learned.

The economy in words comes from a lot of rewriting.

Your writing style is YOU

by Ksenia Anske

For starters, what the fuck is this beast, writing style? You hear everyone shout about it on every corner and read about it in every book on writing and watch it drop from the mouths of big famous authors talking about it like it's their comfortable underwear. You try to understand it when you start out. And that is wrong. Because. Here is the deal.

YOUR WRITING STYLE IS YOU.

Now you can toss all those smart books on style out the window. You don't need them. What you need is to write like mad, write a lot, to discover YOU. Because when you discover who YOU are, you will discover your writing style.