For the next two weeks, in our "Conversations With Authors" series, we'll be talking with Sarah Schwab of Content Creation Coach and Inspired and aMUSEd. She's a wonderful creator, entrepreneur, and writer! And I've been blessed to work with her on a number of projects.
(Hey writers, you ARE still working with others in your field, right? Oh the things you can learn in collaboration, mentorship, and networking . . . but that's another blog!)
Sarah and I, while both writers, have tiptoed in very different fields. I work primarily in narratives and novels and she tells stories and inspires through content . . . short blogs, newsletters, postings, and messages. Personally, I find what she does harder for my natural writing skills. Sometimes, fewer RIGHT words are far more difficult than the 80,000 it takes to tell a life story. This is why my lesson on "Word Crunching" tends to make semi-annual appearances; it is often requested!
Here are a few examples from that lesson:
Original:
The tired girl experienced a long night thanks to her wandering mind.
Word crunched:
The girl’s thoughts contributed to a sleepless night.
Original:
“It was really expensive.”
Word crunched:
“It was extravagant.”
Original:
And, in reality, I was excited to go!
Word crunched:
I was excited to go!
As much as I share ways to develop, grow, and add detail to your writing, it is important to also be able to choose FEW right words to relay an idea. That is this week's writing challenge! First - be sure to follow the Conversations With Writers series on YouTube. Then, start to follow me on Instagram where, beginning this Friday - our weekends will be dedicated to the new #sayitwithless challenge in which I will post a picture and you need to caption it in ten words or less that tell a story.
Here's one you can use to practice:
The actual words I used when I posted this picture were:
"The face you make when you accidentally open up 747 files on your computer... At once... That you were actually trying to delete... And you haven't saved the movie you've been working on for hours. #writerproblems"
Yikes! That's 36 words! Here would be my corrected 10-words-or-less rewrite:
"No save before accidentally opening 747 computer files at once!"
Good luck with this week's #summerwritingchallenge!
Yours in writing,
~Reji