Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
I like to write sentences that a thirteen-year-old could follow.
If they can understand, so can everyone else—including anyone who's skimming.
If they can understand, so can everyone else—including anyone who's skimming.
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Rewriting for Clarity
For each section of an article, I will:
The new version written from memory will take a more direct path toward what's important. The fluff falls away when you focus on effectively re-articulating yourself.
- Read it.
- Take an hour-long break.
- Rewrite the section from memory—focusing only on the critical points.
The new version written from memory will take a more direct path toward what's important. The fluff falls away when you focus on effectively re-articulating yourself.
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Rewriting to be Concise
I've also found that switching text editors tricks my brain into re-reading my work with new eyes. For example, if I wrote the first draft in Dropbox Paper, I'll write the second draft in Google Docs. Those tools format text differently, which kicks your brain out of pattern recognition mode, and makes it feel like you're editing someone else's wor... See more
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Feedback
In short, your first draft is to extract novel ideas out of your brain. Your second draft is to rewrite those ideas so they resonate.
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Rewriting
You only fully understand the context of a sentence when you're done reading it. So, the longer the sentence, the more details you hold in your head at once. That makes understanding already complex points even harder.
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Rewriting for Clarity
To be brief on the sentence-level, remove words that don’t add necessary context. Extra words cause readers to slow down and do extra work. That makes it harder for them to recognize the sentence’s point. And when you exhaust readers, they quit reading.
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Rewriting to be Concise
A few rules of thumb for incorporating feedback from your target audience:
- If you agree with it, implement it.
- If 3 out of 10 people have the same feedback and you’re ambivalent about it, I'd incorporate it if it’s just a quick change.
- If 4 or more out of 10 have the same feedback and you disagree with it, you are wrong. Check your assumptions and yo
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Feedback
Ask for feedback from the audience you’re writing for. Here’s a template:
It would be helpful if you read my article slowly to transcribe the reactions you have while reading it. For example:... See more
1. Tell me what to delete — When you notice your interest is fading, you can say “I'm drifting here. This isn’t compelling and it isn’t adding value. Get to the
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Feedback
Grammatical simplification such as this doesn't make your writing worse. The complexity of your writing should emerge from the strength of its ideas, not from how those ideas are worded.
Julian Shapiro • Writing Well - Part 3 - Rewriting and Editing
Writing Tips - Rewriting for Clarity