Hold That Article! (or 5 Techniques To Effective Re-writing)

You may think you're through writing your article and that it'snow ready for publication. But after the writing, you're not really done.

You might not know it, but you can prune down that 750-wordarticle you've just finished into one that's only 500 words or less.

And guess what'

I bet the short version would still be as effective as your original article, if not more.

Writing is all about communicating. It's about getting your message across to your readers simply, quickly, and effectively.

You don't just send in your first draft to your editor or publish it right away without looking it over first.

Re-writing. It's the key.

Actually, it's the most crucial step in the writing process.

It can be a frustrating thing to do especially when you're still in "writer mode" and you believe you've written a brilliant piece.

But realize this: Re-writing your article will definitely pay off.

So here are 5 re-writing techniques you can use:

Technique # 1:Stick to your central theme or idea. Don't insert bits and pieces of information about other things. Read through your work carefully. You're bound to find ideas, words, phrasesand sentences you can strike out.

Technique # 2:Beware of long introductions. It's OK to start with an introductory paragraph, but some writers tend to write introductions that span several paragraphs. Start with the most striking sentence, quote, or idea and then go on from there.

Technique # 3:Rearrange words, phrases and sentences. Often, merely rearranging words within a sentence will shorten that sentence. The trick here is to find prepositions and eliminate them. Break down long sentences that contain two or more ideas. You'll getrid of more conjunctions, articles and prepositions that way.

Technique # 4:Are you being redundant' If you used something like "absolutely complete," "ask the question," "for a span of one month," or "factual information," then you've managedto be redundant. It's either complete or not -- ......

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