Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all.
(Winston Churchill, The Times Literary Award Presentation, Nov. 2, 1949)
One way to get straight to the point when you write is to use short words--not all the time, of course, but when you sense that your prose has grown dull and thick, weighed down with large words that just take up space and get in the way of what you want to say. In a pinch, short words can speed up a line and light up a thought.
Keep in mind that you don't have to sound like The Cat in the Hat when you use short words. Why, just think of these great lines:
"To be or not to be . . ."When we write, our goal should not be to fill up a page with short words or with long words. We should aim to find the best words, a mix of the long and the short. But when caught in a tight spot, when your thoughts get lost in the web of words and you can't seem to find your way out, try to clear your head and clean up your prose with a few short words.
"I have a dream."
"If you build it, he will come."
"These are the times that try men's souls."
"The stuff that dreams are made of."
"May the Force be with you."
"Be all that you can be."
"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."
"He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword."
"There's no place like home."
"Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"
"The buck stops here."
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
"Seize the day."
"So it goes."
"I love you."
Trust me: it works.
How to Keep It Short:
- Practice in Cutting the Clutter
- Campaign to Cut the Clutter: Vexing and Irritating Redundancies
- Campaign to Cut the Clutter: Ten Good Small Words
Image: Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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