A Cool Tip That Transforms Your Writing Instantly

Emotion-wrapped experiences are hard to forget, and bucketloads are attached to this one. Acoustics perfection that facilitates orchestral crescendos until my sensory input overloads would be an apt event description.

At least that’s what it felt like for me.

Truth.

Every writer who persists deserves these moments. Where the penny finally drops on some prior intangible concept.

I messaged my enthusiasm.

The recipient became intrigued. He had to know.

“Tell me,” said the Tom Bradbury I miss still.

And now some of you know how I’ll always remember, even if the rest of my brain descends into decrepitude.

Such a humble sweetie, my Tom.

Were he alive, he’d have semi-recovered from lambing season by now. Pictures of Spring arrivals with new names, like a proud Papa.

We both had roots in Reedsy. Shaelin’s video clips, whether on Reedsy blog or her personal YouTube channel Shaelin Writes, are a future author's premium wrapped gift whether it’s a special occasion or not. They became a staple.

I shared the golden tip with Tom.

He reflected.

I reflected.

The countless pieces written and I could have kept at it with nary a clue.

Take out those filter words.

Oh, how my poems loved it!

Made ‘em pop so much they got feisty.

It brewed each cup the strongest herbal tea I could muster. And boy, did I muster all over the place, stripping my pages of unnecessary 'this', 'that', or 'the'. A precision blow torch to remove 'have' and 'can' from tarnished metal to reveal shiny sterling silver beneath to breathe magic. The revision of previous scribbles transformed them with a 'word-robe' makeover.

Fun.

Of course, as with nearly everything, it’s not blanket advice. Investigations must be made like only you, the author, can make. The tip of this tool must be wielded with wisdom and a steady hand. Assess weed from flower. Can understanding be maintained with removal? Is the word or phrase redundant? Does word order or verb tense need to change? It can be a lengthy overhaul at times, but the reveal is lifting the spirograph template from the paper after literally going in circles. Artwork created even more beautiful than you imagined.

Cut back the verbiage!

Slice and dice.

I squealed my enthusiasm to the writing world because, at that time, my writing world was Tom. The one I fretted to over my fiction inadequacies. The writers who began yesterday and wondered why they weren't rolling in thousands a week with umpteen million followers. My boundary crossing by joining one too many writing groups and the impossibility of keeping up with them all. He’d be rolling on the floor laughing at me now.

“Dani, what happened?

“I don’t knooooow!”

“What about your five writer’s group limit?”

“And when can a shepherd say, ‘Hey, that’s enough sheep,’ huh Tom? Huh?”

We’d both be grinning.

Your heart widens without effort, even if you hadn’t intended it. This craft stretches you. Makes you feel super-powered way too often. You learn more and run out of space.

Expaaaaaand.

Grow tall enough to let the hem out.

Again.

People on the street look at you different. Can’t figure you out but are drawn in despite themselves.

Then I discovered the deal with gerunds.

Game.

Changer.

Those words with -ing at the end that mysteriously slithered into my sentences. They add a ton of water. They dilute some of the most powerful lines.

For example: Especially when using them for explaining, to the point of excess, that reading them is getting tedious and irritating. Because writing that is following this format is often losing the audience members who are now seeking more interesting material.

See? Grrr-rrr!

Not gonna drink that mess.

Rewrite: Especially in explanation usage, to the point of excess, when reading becomes a tedious irritant. Because written pieces that follow said format, often lose audience members who now seek more provocative material.

Ahhh! Better.

Gerunds, like filter words, make punk wusses out of your best sentences. In general, the odd few may be fine. Too many, and think hot watered sugar with a few drops of food coloring in it.

First draft revisions, find me on the hunt for filter words and gerunds as standard.

When certain gerunds are difficult to eliminate from a banging sentence that I’m certain needs the axe, I choose a more powerful word, make a TNT sentence, and establish a blast radius.

I learned about gerund usage after Tom left.

It’s been over six months and I still feel the urge to message him and share precious grammar/syntax gems. I know he’s okay. He told me he’d walked through death’s doorway before and the realm infused purest fascination and deep peace.

He loved to see writers develop. Succeed. Thrive. Support.

I do too.

Do just that, okay?

And in regards to the tip, I repeat the words of well-known Hogwarts Potions Professor Horace Slughorn.

“Use it well.”

I am very appreciative that you read this story! I put a great deal of time and effort into it so that means so much to me.

You are more than welcome to read more of my work here.

If you would like to demonstrate support for me or any of the Vocal Creators, please like and share our work with friends and on social media platforms. It encourages us to keep doing what we love doing. Please secure permission for sharing to sites outside of this scope.

And just in case you were wondering, tips from all written pieces go direct deposit into my bank account via Stripe and are valued highly, irrespective of the amount, but only if you can manage them. The joy a writer receives from being tipped is having feelings of acknowledgment and validation. "My written voice resonated with someone!" That is what it means for me and many others. I am just as joyous when you share my work!

Please forward any questions, comments, critiques, and/or compliments to me @thedaniwriter