Writing is rewriting, and that means writing more words than you will end up using—and throwing away the rest. That’s a tough pill to swallow for those who don’t like to write in the first place, and those who can’t bear to part with words they spent much time, effort, and sweat to produce. But the undeniable fact is that good writers write more words than they need and toss the leftovers. A tough concept to get used to, but a big step to improving one’s writing.

When should you stop writing a memo, letter, or email? When you’ve said everything you NEED to say. That sounds obvious, but too many businesspeople feel they must write long memos, letters, and reports or they will appear unintelligent to their readers. Nothing is further from the truth. The moment you start writing simply to add length, is when your document starts to become illogical, off-topic, and wordy. Then you really sound unintelligent. If your message can be conveyed in one sentence, stop there and hit the SEND button. You will be praised for your brevity.

No one has time to ask a proofreader to edit each email they write before hitting the SEND button. But the vast majority of typos and errors that appear in emails can be eliminated if everyone took one simple step: reread each email before posting it to cyberspace.

Earnest Hemingway stopped writing at the end of each day on a positive note. If five o’clock rolled around and he was in the middle of a paragraph that was tough to write, he would work out the problem, and continue to write until he hit an idea that was easy to write about. Only then would he put his pen down. That way, he looked forward to writing the next day. Psychologically—and writing is all about the little mind games we play with ourselves—Hemingway’s ploy helped him get off to a fast start each morning. This works for business…

Officialese refers to the jargon and convoluted phrases that, over time, become part of the vocabulary in every industry. The simple word “form” becomes a “requisite document or instrument of commerce.” Eliminate officialese. Here’s what Warren Buffet, Chairman of the Board, Berkshire Hathaway, has to say about jargon in his preface to A Plain English Handbook: How to create clear SEC disclosure documents: “For more than forty years, I have studied the documents that public companies file. Too often, I’ve been unable to decipher just what is being said or, worse yet, had to conclude that nothing was being said….…

Whether you’re writing a brief email or a long report, take a little time to vary the length of your sentences. It adds zip to your style. Your readers will also appreciate the change in cadence as they read. No kidding. Everyone has a little voice in their head that speaks to them as they read. Varying sentence lengths will keep that voice alert and interested.

Everything you write on the job will go faster and involve fewer headaches if you focus on your message (what you want to say) instead of the mechanics (grammar, spelling, and punctuation). Nothing inhibits writing and causes writer’s block more than proofreading while writing. Take a tip from Merry Olde England. In Shakespeare’s day, spelling wasn’t a big deal. In fact, of the six known signatures of Shakespeare, each one is spelled differently. Back then, what you wrote was more important than how you wrote it. (Spelling wasn’t standardized until 1755 when Samuel Johnson published the first English dictionary.) Times…

Concrete words are “tangible.” You can touch, see, hear, smell, taste and paint a picture of the objects they describe. Abstract words are just the opposite. They make no mental connection to physical objects in the world. Many concrete words are derived from Anglo-Saxon and tend to be one syllable, more direct and blunt than abstract words, which are typically polysyllabic Latin words. Concrete: rose, thimble, chair, paper, water, axe, dirt, chalk, telephone, milkAbstract: occupation, intermittent, precept, offer, monograph, epilogue, aspect A mix of both types, with an emphasis on concrete words, is best. People who overuse abstract words tend…

We’ve all seen those lists with two columns: the first one consists of dozens of million-dollar “fancy” words like ascertain, circumvent, and endeavor. The second column is a list of ten-dollar “everyday” words—find out, avoid, and try—that are replacements for the fancy ones in the first column. The idea behind this writing tip is that if you use too many fancy words, you’ll sound like a pedant or stuffed shirt. But you need to view and apply these lists with a little common sense. When writing a document, if your Writer’s Intuition tells you that ascertain is the exact right…

“When we were young and fast and invincible, the Road Runner was our hero. Impervious to danger, the Road Runner ran without tiring, scooted without fear and beep-beeped coolly like a blue James Bond. But as I look down now from this creaking tower of years, I see it was the Coyote who deserved my admiration. That TV show was never about the Road Runner. It was always about the Coyote. The Coyote was determined. Determined is a word much misunderstood. Obstinate people are not determined. They merely suffer from too much pride. Stubborn people are not determined. Stubbornness is willful ignorance. Determination…

“The time to begin writing an article [or any document] is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say.” This is Twain’s humorous way of saying “writing is rewriting”—a tip we all know, but is so very hard to put into practice, especially when writing under a deadline. However, the more we hear it and practice it, the better chance this tip will become part of our writing process.

Tip: Don’t overuse the to be verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) or the have verb (have, has, had) in your sentences. When you edit your work, look for any forms of these verbs and replace them with stronger ones. Choose verbs that have specific meanings, so readers aren’t left with vague descriptions. For example, revise “The CEO has a positive effect on our company” to eliminate the weak has verb and revise the sentence so that it describes what the “positive effect” actually is: “The CEO brings strong leadership to our company.” Also, use the present…

Mark Twain wrote by following rules. His own. Here is one we should all follow: “Substitute damn every time you’re inclined to write very. Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” This is a humorous way of saying, “Eliminate unnecessary words. Everything you write should be clear and concise.” Words we can all write by.

Vicarious means experiencing in your imagination what someone is actually feeling or doing. For example, “Keith derived vicarious pleasure from the misfortune of the CFO, his office nemesis.“

Nemesis means an enemy or long-standing rival. For example, “Keith considered the CFO his nemesis, ever since the person disallowed half the meals on his expense report.“

Bonhomie means good-natured friendliness; geniality. For example, “Keith worked hard to create a bonhomie among his sales team.“

Surfeit means excess; overabundant supply. For example, “The CEO presented a surfeit of ideas during the meeting, but Keith thought they were all foolish.“

It’s National Proofreading Day on March 8th! As a gift from The Executive Writer, here is a list of proofreading tips that will ensure everything you write is clear, concise and error-free: Use a spell checker and grammar checker on the document as a first screening, but don’t depend on them.Then print out the document you need to proofread.Read it out loud once and then a second time silently.Read it backwards to focus on the spelling of words.As you read, use a screen (such as a blank sheet of paper) to cover the material not yet proofed.Point with your finger…

It’s National Grammar Day! But what, exactly, do we mean by the word, grammar? Most people define it very simply as “writing rules.” But grammar has a much more extensive and complex definition. What better day than today to take a closer look at the word:Grammar is the study of words, how they are used in sentences, and how they change in different situations.The Ancient Greeks used to call it grammatikē tékhnē or “the craft of letters.” The word, however, can have any of these meanings: The study of a language: how it works, and everything about it. This is referred to as “background research on language.”The study of sentence structure. Rules…

Circumscribe means to draw a line around; to constrict with a boundary. For example, “Keith felt that his authority was being circumscribed by the new CEO.“

Acquiesce mean to submit, comply, or accept. For example, “Keith acquiesced to his sales team’s demand that he stop micromanaging them.“

Tractable means docile; capable of being easily managed or controlled. For example, “The new salesperson seemed too tractable to Keith, so he fired him.“

Impugn means to oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity. For example, “Keith felt that the VP’s comments impugned his integrity.“

Haggard means tired; exhausted. For example, “After a marathon session of endless meetings, Keith felt haggard.“

Mellifluous means having a smooth rich flow. For example, “Keith’s mellifluous voice could be heard well beyond the shower where he was singing.“

Recondite means obscure; arcane; something that is little known. For example, “The HR manual’s section on paid time off was so recondite that Keith threw the book away.“

When you expand your vocabulary, you expand your mind. So start expanding, by thumbing through a thesaurus and jotting down new favorite words to use in your everyday speech and writing. There’s no better time to start than National Thesaurus Day, which just so happens to be January 18th! The first modern thesaurus, Roget’s Thesaurus, was compiled in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget. Since its publication, it has never been out of print. The word thesaurus is derived from the Greek word thēsauros, which means “treasure.” A fitting name given that a thesaurus is a treasure chest of words! According to Roget, the main purpose…

Incongruous means incompatible; not harmonious; inconsistent. For example, “Keith felt that the new design for the headquarters building was an incongruous mix of modern and baroque.“

Impervious means impenetrable; not capable of being affected or disturbed. For example, “Keith said he was impervious to jet lag and that sleep was for losers.“

Deleterious means causing harm or damage, often in a subtle or unexpected way. For example, “Keith felt that the CFO’s new strategy would have a deleterious effect on next quarter’s sales.“

Hegemony means leadership or dominance over another person, group, country, etc. For example, “Keith felt that his sales team’s hegemony in the Northwest was being threatened by a competitor that just moved into Seattle.“

Germane means fitting; relevant and appropriate. For example, “The CEO politely reminded Keith to keep his comments germane to the topic being discussed in the meeting.“

Caustic means sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way. For example, “The CFO’s caustic remarks cut Keith to the core.“

Redound means to contribute greatly to a person’s credit or honor. For example, “Keith would only join committees whose work would redound to his reputation for efficiency.“

Lackadaisical means lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy. For example, “Keith’s lackadaisical attitude toward filling out expense reports got him in trouble more than once.”

Pedagogical means relating to teaching or education. For example, “Keith wanted to be known for his pedagogical skills, which is why he constantly lectured the interns.”

Hobbyhorse means a preoccupation or favorite topic to which someone constantly refers. For example, “The sales staff was tired of Keith talking about winning the lottery, one of his many hobbyhorses.”

Apocryphal means of doubtful authenticity, spurious. For example, “Keith always thought that the CEO’s braggadocios college stories were apocryphal.”

Apposite means highly pertinent or appropriate, apt. For example, “Keith searched for an apposite quotation to begin his presentation on hygiene in the workplace.”

Puckish means whimsical, impish. For example, “Keith’s puckish sense of humor often got him into trouble.”

Faze means disconcert, daunt; disturb the composure of. For example, “The new employee was fazed by Keith’s insistence on arriving at 8:45 each day instead of 9:00.”

Clarion means loud and clear. For example, “Keith gave a clarion call for focusing on the first quarter’s new sales targets.”

Evince means to reveal, display clearly. For example, “Keith’s new CEO gave a speech that evinced the excitement she felt at leading the company.”

Motley means incongruously varied in appearance or character; disparate. For example, “Keith’s motley arrangement of the slides in his presentation was embarrassing.”

Cogent means clear, logical and convincing. For example, “Keith made a cogent argument for repainting the stripes in the employee parking lot.”

Sedulous means showing dedication and diligence. For example, “Keith was sedulous in his pursuit of the perfect Quiche Lorraine that he wanted to make for the Christmas party.”

Hapless means having no luck; unfortunate. For example, “Keith could only smile at the intern’s hapless attempt to impress the CEO.”

Ostentatious means designed to impress or attract notice, usually with a vulgar or pretentious display. For example, “Keith felt that the CEO’s ostentatious lifestyle sent the wrong message to the company’s employees.”

Dearth means a scarcity or lack of something. For example, “The dearth of ideas at the quarterly sales meeting left Keith feeling depressed.”

Importune means to ask someone pressingly and persistently for or to do something. For example, “Keith importuned his boss to give him a paid day off to take his dog to the vet.”

Burgeon means to grow and expand rapidly; flourish; bloom. For example, “Keith’s confidence burgeoned after he received the employee of the quarter award.”

Cubit means an ancient unit of measurement equal to the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger (typically about 18 inches). For example, “When Keith suggested that the new shelves in the conference room should be four cubits long, his boss had no idea what he was talking about.”

Shanghai means to coerce or trick someone into doing something. For example, “The CIO shanghaied Keith into attending the tradeshow in his place.”

Prodigious means remarkably or impressively great in size or degree. For example, “Keith was impressed with the new hire’s prodigious knowledge of the company’s market.”

Ephemeral means lasting a very short time. For example, “The prestige Keith earned for making the most sales in the first quarter was ephemeral; he placed last in the second quarter.”

Countermand means to revoke something (such as an order) issued by someone else. For example, “Keith felt he had a moral obligation to countermand the CEO’s directive to inflate the company’s worth during the next stockholders meeting.”

Tenacious means clinging; adhering closely; persistent. For example, “Once Keith decided on a course of action, he could be very tenacious in seeing it through to the end.”

Incipient means beginning to happen or develop; in an initial stage. For example, “Keith felt he had to immediately quash the interns’ incipient revolt against working without pay on weekends.”

Asperity means harsh behavior or speech; rough manner or temper. For example, “Keith’s asperity during meetings with the CFO was just one reason why he was not promoted.”

Protean means able to do many different things; versatile. For example, “Keith was a remarkably protean manager, which is why he was promoted so often.”

Largesse means generosity. For example, “Keith benefited from the largesse of his grandparents when he received a sizable inheritance.”

Sequester means to set apart; segregate. For example, “Keith sequestered the sales team in a conference room until they created a new campaign for the coming quarter.”

Minion means a subordinate or servile dependent or follower. For example, “Keith considered the new group of interns his minions and ordered them about mercilessly.”

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.” – C. J. Cherryh

Eclectic means composed of elements drawn from various sources; having a wide-ranging and diverse sense of taste and style. For example, “Keith had an eclectic palate and enjoyed dining at a variety of ethnic restaurants.”

Epitome means a person or thing that is the perfect example of a particular quality or type. For example, “Dressed in his tuxedo, Keith looked the epitome of the debonair man about town.”

Mitigate means make less severe, serious or painful. For example, “Keith felt he could mitigate his financial problems by selling his Escalade.”

Apotheosis means the perfect form or example of something. For example, “Keith felt that Star Trek was the apotheosis of television shows, and recorded every episode.”

Portend means indicate; an omen or sign of something to come. For example, “Keith felt that the weak sales figures in the first quarter portended even more financial trouble the rest of the year.”

Cacophony means a harsh, grating mixture of sounds. For example, “The cacophony of voices coming from the break room made Keith decide to eat lunch in the parking lot.”

Abstruse means difficult to comprehend. For example, “The instructions on how to set up the new printer were so abstruse that Keith slammed the printer manual down and walked away.”

Wordy, convoluted, unclear writing has been a problem for centuries in both the public and private sectors. But the federal government took a big step to address the issue by passing the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Simply put, the Act states that every document a federal employee writes that will be read by a taxpayer must be written in plain English. Here are some of the highlights of the Act: The purpose of this Act is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of Federal agencies to the public by promoting clear Government communication that the public can understand and…

Perspicacious means keen, having acute mental vision or discernment. For example, “Keith was perspicacious about the challenges facing the company, and wrote a report detailing what he felt could be done to address the problems.”

Enervate means to weaken, to cause someone or thing to feel drained of energy. For example, ” Missing his quarterly sales quota did not enervate Keith, in fact it had the opposite effect and spurred him to action.”

Approbation means commendation, praise. For example, “Keith constantly sought the approbation of his colleagues.”

Cumulate means to gather or combine, pile in a heap. For example, “Keith asked the intern to cumulate the sales reports for the last three years.”

Clement means inclined to be merciful, lenient; not severe, mild. For example, “Keith appreciated the clement attitude of the police officer who pulled him over for speeding.”

Venal means corrupt, able to be bribed. For example, “Though only a small number of politicians have been convicted of taking money, Keith believed that all politicians were venal.”

These two writing tips go hand-in-hand: “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” — Louis L’Amour, and “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” ― Jodi Picoult. They are good reminders that when you have writer’s block, and we all do from time to time, you should write something, anything! to get the juices flowing.

Adjudicate means to make an official decision about who is right in, for example, a dispute. For example, “The CEO asked Keith to adjudicate the quarrel between HR and the maintenance staff.”

Myopic means nearsighted; lacking imagination or foresight. For example, “Even the most myopic member of Keith’s staff could see that his suggestion that a 2% raise would solve the morale problem in the office was ludicrous.”

Valorous means acting with bravery or boldness, courageous. For example, “Keith thought that his effort to implement a casual Friday dress code was a valorous act worthy of a letter of commendation.”

Impromptu means something done on the spur of the moment without being planned or rehearsed. For example, “Keith’s new boss had a reputation for holding meetings which were often impromptu and unnecessary.”

Recalcitrant means to have an obstinate and uncooperative attitude toward authority. For example, “Keith was upset with the recalcitrant website team that refused to implement his changes to the company website.”

1. “A sentence should never be cruel and unusual.”  — William C. Burton, attorney 2. “I have made this letter longer that usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.” — Blaise Pascal, mathematician 3. “Clarity begins at home.” — Edie Schwager, speaker with the American Medical Writers Association 4. “The trouble with so many of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity.” — Robert Stuberg, author and speaker 5. “I never write metropolis for seven cents when I can write city and get paid the same.” — Mark Twain, author 6. “When writing about science, don’t simplify the science;…

Exculpate means to show or declare that someone is not guilty of wrongdoing. For example, “The company’s lawyer exculpated Keith of any blame in the sales team’s attempt to defraud the company.”

Umbrage means a feeling of resentment after being slighted or insulted. For example, “When the client mockingly inferred that Keith’s sales figures were inflated, he took umbrage at the remark, turned and walked away.”

Mordant means showing a sharp or critical quality, biting. For example, “Keith refused to work with the intern because he did not like the intern’s mordant sense of humor.”

Verbose means wordy, using more words than necessary. For example, “Keith’s response to a company inquiry of his excessive spending at a tradeshow was verbose, confusing, and misleading.”

Codify means to arrange laws or rules into a systematic code. For example, “The CEO asked Keith to codify the many different HR policies that their company implemented over the past 10 years.”

Camaraderie means a spirit of friendly good-fellowship. For example, “Keith felt his team’s camaraderie gave them a leg up against the competition.”

Cloister means to cut off or seclude from the world. For example, “While Keith was protective of the two new interns from his alma mater, he did not want to cloister them either.”

Nocuous means harmful. For example, “Unlike several of his colleagues, Keith felt the tweet about the company’s recent drop in the DOW was nocuous and replied with a scathing tweet of his own.”

Plain writing (aka, plain language and plain English) is simply another term for clear and concise writing, something writing instructors have been trying to instill in their students for literally centuries. Plain Writing has a number of definitions. One good one is: “A communication is in plain writing if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended readers can readily find what they need, understand it, and use it.” But Albert Einstein—a plain writing master long before the term was coined—made a keen observation that applies to writing and just about every other human endeavor: “Any fool…

Enigmatic means mysterious; relating to or resembling an enigma. For example, “When asked about his role in the practical joke played on the HR manager, Keith simply gave an enigmatic smile and left the room.”

Put one space after each sentence when using proportionally-spaced fonts, which means just about every font found on a computer including the one on this webpage (notice that an i takes up less than half the character-space width of an m). Put two spaces after sentences when using mono-spaced fonts, such as Courier New and those found on a typewriter. With mono-spaced fonts, an i takes up the exact same character-space width as an m. Reading documents written with mono-spaced fonts becomes, well, monotonous, so someone long ago decided to put two spaces at the end of each sentence to…

Luddite means someone opposed to change, especially technological change. For example, “Keith mockingly referred to the new hire, who wrote his memos with a pen, refusing to type on a keyboard, as a Luddite.”

Many scholars think so. Without it, the history of the world would be drastically different. The alphabet was invented in Egypt around 2000 B.C. as a writing method to show the sounds of words. Its earliest readers read aloud and reading aloud continued to be the standard practice throughout ancient and medieval times. About 26 major alphabetic scripts are used worldwide. The English alphabet was handed down to us from the Romans (who only had 23 letters in their alphabet; it did not have a J, V, or W). Today, the English alphabet is the most popular script in the…

Deportment means behavior, how you conduct yourself. For example, “Keith’s deportment upon learning his proposal was rejected was less than stellar.”

T.S. Eliot once said, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.” The English language was following that dictum centuries before Eliot was born. No fewer than 600,000 words have been used in English writing since the twelfth century. So where did they all come from? We, that is, English speakers since the dawn of the language, were very good at stealing them. For example, alcohol and alkali are from Arabic, amok from Malay, bizarre from Basque, okay from West Africa, taboo from Tahitian, and the list goes on and on and on. In 2018, the Oxford English Dictionary’s latest update added…