rules of thumb - On Writing Well

On Revision

Strip every sentence to its cleanest components. If a word can be cut without loss, cut it.
Most first drafts can be cut by 50% without losing information or voice. Target that.
Bracket every word that may not be doing necessary work. Then cut all bracketed material.
Ask of every sentence: "What am I trying to say?" Then ask: "Have I said it as a naive first-time reader would encounter it?" Both questions must pass.
After stripping: active verb scan (replace passive constructions), qualifier audit (cut "rather," "quite," "sort of"), concept-noun check (convert nominalizations back to verbs).
Read the draft aloud. Rhythm problems invisible on the page become audible when spoken.
Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things you can keep out of it that shouldn't be there.

Style is the careful projection onto paper of who you think you are. It cannot be constructed; it emerges by stripping away the false self.
Fix pronoun, tense, and mood before writing a word. Hold them throughout.
Cut the first 3-4 paragraphs of any draft and see if the piece starts better where you first sound like yourself.
Write the first draft in first person even if the final piece can't use "I." First-person drafts find voice faster.
Never defend a stylistic choice by saying "my editor prefers it." That is identity abdication.
Taste = knowing what to omit. The word you leave out is often more powerful than the word you use.
Commit or don't write: every qualifier costs a fraction of the reader's trust.
Imitation is a legitimate developmental stage. Read admired writers aloud. Eventually, shed the models.

The most important sentence in any piece is the first one. If it doesn't compel the reader to continue, the piece is dead.
The lead is a chain of linked obligations — each sentence must pull the reader to the next.
Strong leads come from research discipline, not stylistic cleverness. The freshest leads come from sources no other writer consulted.
Test the ending: have you continued past the true climax? Stop at the emotional peak. "When you're ready to stop, stop."
Beware the Section III trap: "In sum, it can be noted that..." is the signal that you are past the ending.
Begin every new paragraph with a sentence that grows out of the final sentence of the previous paragraph.
Use asterisks to signal shifts in mood, pace, or subject within a long piece — structure communicated silently.
One story, one roof. If the piece contains more than one story type, decompose rather than revise.

Interview: Use neutral attribution verbs ("said," "told"). Get out of the way of the subject. Ask one last question after the formal interview ends.
Travel: Test every detail for work it does that no other detail could. Distrust any phrase that comes easily.
Memoir: Organize around emotional truth, not chronological completeness. Commit to the specific sensory detail.
Science: Start with a human entry point. Convert exposition to narrative momentum through detective structure.
Business: Four articles of faith: humanity, clarity, brevity, simplicity. Locate the missing "I." Eliminate concept nouns.
Sports: Resist cliché and synonym obsession. Cover the game before covering the game's meaning.
Criticism: Ground every evaluative claim in specific evidence. End with a committed stance.

Follow your own curiosity. If you find it interesting, trust that readers will too.
Sincerity is a credential. When subjects perceive genuine interest, they don't challenge authority.
Never let product-fixation (visualizing the headline, the byline) substitute for discovering what the material demands.
Full effort for every piece, regardless of venue or audience size. Any reader may be encountering you for the first time.
Defend your style in editorial conversations. Changes to style are changes to identity, not corrections of errors.
Quality is its own reward. The craftsman's ethic is an internal standard that overrides external pressure.
Reduce before drafting: scope (how much territory) + single point (what one thought the reader leaves with). Not two thoughts — one.

Apply these self-interrogation questions during revision:

What is this piece really about? (Distinguish animating purpose from nominal topic — cut everything that doesn't serve the center.)
What does my reader want to know next? (After every sentence — then write the sentence that answers it.)
Is this the true climax? (Or am I continuing past where the piece actually ends?)
Does this word fill a real need? (Bernstein's franchise criterion — if no, cut it.)
Could anyone else have written this lead? (If yes, it is not fresh enough — go back to the research.)
Am I squandering the self? (Is the human being inside this institutional voice being preserved?)
Is this the beginning of the real piece? (Or warm-up material the reader doesn't need?)
Have I fixed the three unities? (Pronoun, tense, mood — consistent throughout?)