Action Words writing tip

Clutter in writing is a major problem.
We seem compelled to add. Even in this piece on ‘clutter’ I started out with a first sentence that read: ‘Clutter in writing is a major problem for writers everywhere today.’ When I reviewed it, and cut it, the sentence became stronger.

Writing improves when you keep things out that don’t need to be there. Clutter is so much part of our writing today, we often don’t notice it. But I promise you, it’s there.

“It is interesting to note . . .”
“At this point in time . . .”
“It’s my personal opinion . . .”
“As has been pointed out earlier . . .”

If you are writing something that’s important to you, check each word and ask yourself, “is this needed?” If you can remove clutter, your readers will be pleased. You will communicate more easily.