Leave Out the Parts that People Will Skip

August 21st, 2007 by Darren Rowse | 23 Comments

Darren Rowse - ProbloggerAuthor Elmore Leonard once said the following about writing:

“I try to leave out the parts that people skip.”

Ouch - I read that quote and instantaneously am convicted by my verbosity. I suspect that many bloggers can relate.

One of the keys to blogging is not only working out what to publish - but what not to publish.

This is a skill that I think we need to learn on two fronts:

  1. Within Posts - some bloggers (myself at time) seem to write every thought that comes to mind on a topic as they think it. They end up with long rambling posts that probably could have been said in about 50% of the words.
  2. Across a Blog - on a bigger picture level I’ve been learning lately that posting less frequently and deleting second rate and half thought through posts can improve your blog significantly.

A question that I’ve been asking myself lately before hitting publish:

“Would I read this on another blog and be moved to comment, link to it or pass it onto a friend?”

If I don’t answer yes - I either rewrite the post or delete it.

This guest post was written by Darren Rowse from Problogger.

More great reading: 10 Essential Tips for Writing a Great Post

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23 Responses so far to “Leave Out the Parts that People Will Skip”

  1. Let me be the first comment and welcome you Darren to the house of Blog Bloke.

    I totally agree with your conclusions… less is more and quality is better than quantity when it comes to writing.

    Now if I can only figure out how to narrow a post down to one-liners like Scoble and Dave Winer do and I’ll be an a-lister for sure ;-).

    Thanks for the great post. Cheers!

    …BB

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  2. thanks for the opportunity to contribute.

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  3. I’m notoriously verbose. Less is more, but less is hard! I’m practicing my editing more than ever, and I’m thrilled if I can cut 20% of my content and lose nothing in the process.

    If anyone thinks writing short blog post is difficult, try writing a story at OneSentence.org.

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  4. This guest post and the reconciliation it represents makes me very, very happy.

    May you both know every success.

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  5. I wish bloggers would publish less, I find it difficult to keep up with everything. Which is why I’ve had to slash a lot of my RSS subscriptions - I wasn’t getting any work done!

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  6. Yup, I struggle with this every time I post!

    I believe 100% in my writing ability and know that if anyone takes the time to read every word, they will get the message.

    However, when “every word” turns into a post that takes more than just a few minutes to read, people start dropping off.

    Ah, the dangers of being a motor mouth… :)

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  7. I write for a living and can be incredibly concise for work that involves a paycheck. My blogzine, however, can be a different story.

    I’m also trying to trim off the fat and just leave readers with the meat.

    hak

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  8. Good reminder! I tend to be kind of wordy too. If I just take the time, I can usually cut out a lot of extraneous words.

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  9. I could do with a dose of under-dosage in my own blog… I’m taking this advice.

    Thanks, Blog Bloke & Darren!

    Susheel

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  10. …interesting, I’ve always thought the more the better…in terms of frequency of posts as well…but in the end, I have to agree it really comes down to quality content

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  11. Thanks for dropping by and the great comments everyone. Since I’m ill right now and can’t write as often as I would like, I guess I will have no problem following this advice. :)

    Cheers!

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  12. Great quote… seems I’ve seen it somewhere before.

    Good also to see you two have kissed and made up. :)

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  13. Does that go for you and I as well ;-)

    Thanks for dropping Brian.

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  14. That is probably my biggest struggle. I have tried to trim a bit and add some visual things to help draw people through.

    But I’m working on it!

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  15. One technique I learned in songwriting also works for regular writing: remove as many words as you can. You’re left with a core of meaning and shorter sentences that are easier to read.

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  16. Yup…said the same thing on a post recently about building blog abs. We need to take a break sometimes, re-consider what we’re posting, and this way our blogs will be bettah!

    It’s good news to see the happy collaboration!

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  17. I have been following this sort of principal - trouble is I am hardly writing lately :-) Sometimes I get the feeling that it has all been said before and there is nothing new or different I can contribute.

    Sueblimely’s last blog post..What are the Cows and Conns of Making Money Online

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  18. Exactly my point Sue! There are just too many sploggers out there recycling information that’s already been said and done. They make me ill and it’s a game that I refuse to play.

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  19. […] Darren Rowse wrote that we should “Leave Out the Parts that People Will Skip”. While I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, in my case the problem was just the […]

  20. […] has also generously offered to be a guest blogger here at Blog Bloke and I’m looking forward to that very […]

  21. […] Darren Rowse wrote a article post here called Leave Out the Parts that People Will Skip which I followed up with Writing Less is More, More or […]

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