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One of the biggest challenges for writers is learning how to cut and trim. It’s painful! After all that effort to draft a two-page story, a five-page essay, or a twenty-page paper, why turn around and destroy any part of your stunning creation? But professional writers soon learn to reconcile themselves to a painful truth: first drafts are mostly mental flab, not ready for public exposure. Good writing is “fit” and concise. The following paragraph is full of flab. Copy it onto your word processor and see what words and expressions you can make more concise without changing the meaning or emphasis. (Hint: Many first drafts can be improved by trimming unnecessary adjectives and recognizing-and-revising conversational expressions.) It’s a fact that most heads of state are flattered by ambitious politicians, but sometimes such efforts can really backfire disastrously. To give you an example, in 17th century France, the life of Superintendent of Finance Nicolas Fouquet was totally ruined shortly after he tried to entertain King Louis XIV. Louis, who was 23 years old, had only recently become the acting monarch of the country, and Fouquet thought that he should go all out to impress him. Fouquet took the initiative and invited Louis and the royal court to his fantastic, new château, Vaux-le-Vicompte, for several days of sumptuous banquets, brilliant fireworks, graceful ballets, and exciting games. Louis was impressed, but not in the way Fouquet had intended. In fact, the king was angry because Vaux-le-Vicompte was far more amazing and elegant than his own royal palace, and the game prizes, which included things like diamond jewelry and horses, seemed excessive, even for a Superintendent of Finance. Fouquet succeeded only in drawing everyone’s attention to his own outrageous corruption and to the vast sums he had stolen from the country. Louis was advised not to humiliate Fouquet at his own party, but not long after that, Fouquet was arrested, stripped of his impressive, spacious château and sent to prison. Different editors may make different cuts. Click HERE for an example of how one editor made the above paragraph more concise. For further guidelines on how to create “fat-free writing,” visit Garbl's Fat-Free-Writing Links
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