A lesson in less

Here's a writing exercise you can do that will stimulate your creativity and force you to be clear, concise and complete. The object of the exercise is to write a story in 100 words or less and make sure the story includes a pre-designated word. For example, the word might be "soup." Your job is to write a credible story using no more than 100 words and including the word "soup." The story should have a plot and a distinct beginning, middle and end. If you try this exercise, what will probably happen is that you will do your darndest to be concise and yet, you will probably exceed 100 words on your first try. So you will have to edit - eliminating any words that aren't absolutely essential. At first, you will think it is impossible. But you will be surprised by the result. It is just an exercise and yet it provides some lessons that are well worth learning as we strive to improve our writing skills.

Throw the ball

Steve Stone, a former major league pitcher who is now a sportscaster, tells of the time when he was pitching in a ballgame and the pitching coach came out to the mound to talk with him. The coach said, "I have a message from your infielders. They're getting bored. Throw the ball."
Stone said it was the best advice he ever got. The problem was he was taking too much time between pitches, causing his fielders to stand around, shuffling their feet and not being as alert and attentive as they should have been.
When you're writing, you are the pitcher. Your readers are the infielders. Your story is the ball they should be ready to catch when it's hit to them. Unless of course they get bored.
Keep the game moving. It's all right to fill in your story with description and details but not to the point of leaving your readers shuffling their feet, waiting for something to happen.
Dorothy Garlock, nationally-known historical fiction writer, puts it this way. "Sooner or later, you have to burn down the barn."
Author Martin Yoseloff cautioned against loading sentences and paragraphs with too much information, likening it someone trying to make their way through a room where there's just too much furniture.
Throw the ball.

Tip sheet

A collection of tips on how to improve your writing.

1. Don't write about man; write about a man.
2. Don't write that it's raining. Write about who gets wet.
3. Edit your work by going through it and crossing out all the parts the reader will skip over.
4. Write to express, not to impress.
5. When in doubt, leave it out.
6. Don't write in paragraphs; write in scenes.
7. Show me; don't tell me.
8. Make it a labor of love; it may not turn out to be anything more.
9. Write as if you're telling your story to someone sitting in the easy chair across from you. Envision a fireplace between you if that helps.
10. The two best ways to improve your writing are to read and to write.

A backward look

Here's a tip that works for writing both fiction and non-fiction: Sometimes backwards is best.
A dilemma for many writers is when they have an idea for something and they know where they want to go with it but they just can't seem to get there. It's like seeing the finish line but having trouble getting into the race.
Many writers have solved this problem by writing the ending first. By doing this, you've established the finish line - yu have a destination. And you've got the creative juices flowing. Now all you need to do is follow the road, through your sentences and paragraphs, that will get you there.
Does this sound far-fetched? Think about the last time you planned a vacation to a far-away place, some place you had never visited before. That was your destination. Your next step, probably, was to get out a roadmap to start planning the trip, including all the interesting stops along the way. And then you start the car.
That's what writers do. And remember, you are just the driver. The passengers are your readers. Make sure to make it an interesting, fulfilling journey for them.

Fulfillment

The goal of a writer is to leave the reader with a sense of fulfillment. How do you define fulfillment? It's the feeling you have when you have just finished eating a delicious meal.
Delicious. That's it, isn't it? You hope your readers find your work delicious.
Fulfillment, then, is a literary principle that defies math because the whole is equal to more than the sum of its parts.
A meal isn't delicious because it's made up of meat and potatoes and vegetables and a beverage and dessert. It's more than the sum of its parts.
A story isn't fulfilling because it's made up of words and sentences and paragraphs and commas, periods and question marks. It's more than the sum of its parts.
And when that "more" turns out to be just enough, the reader enjoys fulfillment.