Before we get started, I must admit a couple of things:
- This post was originally at the tail end of this original post: Adventures in Writing: Why Is It So Hard to Be Concise?, which I wrote in 2024 and reflects on my struggle to write concisely.
- This isn’t the only one; I also carved out this entire post from the original: Adventures in Writing: Goal-Setting to Improve as a Writer
- I find this ironic and hilarious. I’ve also just been having too much fun to take my clear and concise writing ambitions seriously.
Editor’s note: Until now in 2025, where I think I’ve finally started to make some progress toward clarity and brevity! But I did want to keep most of my original post intact, even if spread out over three separate posts, as markers in time on my writing adventure.
Back then, I was learning, exploring, and coming up with new ways to train myself to write succinctly. Now that I’ve actually tried some of these original ideas, I’m going to share my reflections in case they are helpful to you.
There are some fundamental rules to achieve brevity (which I’ll cover in a future post), but how you incorporate them — and what’s causing you to be wordy in the first place — is different for everyone.
Here are four things I’ve tried to teach myself how to write more concisely:
1. Separating long articles into individual posts
[2025 editor’s note: this is what I’m doing right now.]
This started out by going through old blog posts and finding the natural breaking points where I start to creep out of scope. Ruthlessly chopping up my work forced me to think about what my point really was.
Once I had done this a few times, it became easier to spot transgressions before hitting publish, which significantly smoothed out my workflow.
Now, I can typically catch if my topic is too broad upon outlining it. Mind maps have become very useful in this process! (I think topic clusters is the preferred blogging term.)
One thing that’s made this easier is recognizing that I don’t need to cut out the things I want to say, necessarily. I just need to put them in the right context.
Speaking of context…
2. Creating a series
I did try giving myself a little context by trying to create a “series”. The series was meant to give me permission to write a bunch of shorter bits that were all related.
My first attempt was Making Spaces. It was fun, and it worked somewhat — it was particularly good for idea generation and then following through on each idea sequentially.
I ran into a roadblock where I wasn’t sure if some of the ideas I had originally planned actually made sense as part of the series. So I overthought those, and then ran out of steam.
My second attempt was all about authenticity, my intention word for the year. (If you’re curious, links to all the posts can be found part-way through this post, being the last in that series.) I hadn’t originally set out with the intent of making it a series — this was one of those situations where I started happily freewriting, and then realized I was trying to make too many points at once. So I stopped myself part-way through and turned it into a series, hoping I would enjoy producing a bunch of shorter posts more quickly.
I’m not sure if that one worked — that last post in the series ended up a 2,800-word behemoth.
I’ve found that series are more helpful in creating those topic clusters than they are creating short, punchy posts. They’re a collection of ideas placed into the context of a series.
In fact, my series are now just specific tags that I use. No need to overcomplicate things!
3. Borrowing from business writing
Exactly what am I borrowing? What came to mind was the structure of the idea more than anything.
Rarely in business am I writing meandering thoughts about a vague idea. I am usually writing to answer a very specific question, or to provide solutions to a very specific problem. Everything is purposeful, and everything has a scope limitation.
In business writing, you need to have the right mix of breadth and depth.
Sometimes a client will have a very specific, technical question. So I’ll limit my breadth and give an in-depth answer.
Other times, a client may have a general sense of what they’re wondering about, but they’re coming in at an entry-level. In this case, we’ll cover some breadth at a high level so that they can guide the conversation deeper in the area that’s most relevant to them. (This would be like having a pillar post connected to several more in-depth posts.)
For this one, the trick is to maintain an authentic voice while still borrowing brevity from the wonderful world of business writing. (She alliterates ironically. See? Too much fun being had here!)
For this to work, I need to start with a question or a specific problem, and then address it. This is in contrast to my older approach, which started with “an answer”.
An answer to what?
4. Spontaneous writing
Sitting down and freewriting can be part of the problem. Without an outline to guide your structure and focus, your writing can meander terribly.
But I think there’s a way to do it succinctly and successfully.
Much of what I write has been advice, discoveries, and big ideas. Spontaneous writing hasn’t worked well for these.
But it does work for little musings!
Writing a short post spontaneously with a narrow focus eliminates the temptation of finding five different ways to say the same thing, and reduces the amount of flowery language you have time to incorporate.
Personally, I like reading little musings and personal insights on blogs, and I think I’ll enjoy writing them — if I ever get to it.
[2025 editor’s note: I did. Here’s a spontaneous, playful piece from the 2025 edit: When it Comes to Tea Cozies… Don’t Confuse Style for Substance]
It reminds me of my approach to painting — I know I could plan from thumbnails all the way through to a finished piece, but it’s a lot of fun just putting paint to paper and seeing what happens in an hour.
It keeps the creativity flowing and unlocks those blocks!
Parting words
All of these ideas have helped me refine my writing style, either by encouraging conciseness, or by providing insight into my own creative process.
I like to think I’ve improved a lot since the original post from 2024! But it’s still hard, and I still have a lot to learn.
Do you have any tips or tricks that help keep your writing focused? Drop them below!
And of course, if you’d love a little creative encouragement to keep on growing in your craft, I’d love to stay connected through the monthly newsletter. Sign up here!
