Remedies for Writing That’s Become Muddied

Every writer falls into it from time to time: lazy writing just to fill up a page. Filler words and trite phrases slip into your prose unsolicited. And they end up crowding out your message, making your writing clunky, passive and unclear.

The tendency to rely on useless filler words comes from academia. From high school essays through Ph.D. dissertations, writers are taught to string together extremely long sentences, as if that’s the primary purpose of writing. Well-meaning English teachers encourage students to fill pages with modifiers, clauses, determiners, adverbs and adjectives that don’t add anything to the meaning.

But you aren’t on campus anymore, Dorothy. Now you’re in the business world, where every word counts! Each nanosecond you waste on a useless filler word constitutes lazy writing, and readers won’t stand for it. With so many alternatives available, they’ll just go elsewhere. As a result, no one will get your message.

Clarity Is Queen

If content is king, then clarity is queen. As time condenses and people’s attention spans shorten, you have to make every word count. Clarity is the means by which you get right to the point in as few words as possible.

You’ve still got to fulfill your mission and get the meaning of your writing across. But doing it succinctly is the best path to the end. And it’s the only way your writing will be read.

Consider your readers. They consume blogs, websites, newsletters, memos and marketing copy on the fly. No busy professional sits down in the evening with an after-dinner drink to read your latest blog. No, they’re more likely to digest your business writing along with a morning muffin on a mobile device. So make it count and make it tight.

Down and Dirty Lazy Writing Tricks

The Content Marketing Institute reports that lazy writing is full of filler and fluff that bores readers, complicates ideas and dilutes your message. They even list words you can take out of your writing right now to make it better.

The Ray Access content experts agree with them all and strongly favor a few. And we’ve got a few of our own to add to the list. The experienced Ray Access editors remove the filler from lazy writing that creeps into any of our work. We recommend you avoid phrases such as:

• In order to. There’s never an excuse for this phrase. Just use “to” and continue. Take it out; you’ll never miss it.
• Can, may. Does your service help your customers? Or can it? When you write: “Our service can help you grow your business,” you’re using a modifier that negates your statement. Using “may” delivers the same result. Don’t unintentionally hurt your cause. Instead be direct and bold in your statement: “Our service helps you grow your business.”
• As a matter of fact, moreover, not to mention. Don’t water your message down. Just say it. Lazy writing is full of these kinds of transitions. Get to the point without all the filler.
• Are able to, is able to. Like using the filler word “can,” this phrase is just as useless. Instead of writing: “We are able to get your work out quickly,” write: “We get your work out quickly.” See how much stronger the statement becomes?
• There are, there is. When it comes to lazy writing, this phrase often constitutes a major relapse in judgment. You can find better, more direct ways of starting any sentence. So don’t use “there are” or “there is.” Get right to the point. “There are more ways to do it” is a roundabout version of “We offer more ways to do it.” And then explain what they are.

Clean Up Your Act

One of the best tips we give writers is to write like you speak. You may have to clean it up a bit and get rid of the slang and shortcuts translated through your body language. But when you read your work out loud before submitting it (another good tip), it should sound like you: a person who knows what she’s talking about.

And if you just can’t help falling into those old lazy writing habits, leave the clutter for your cleaning lady, otherwise known as your editor! Call on Ray Access to clean up your writing, tackle those lazy sentences and take your message straight to your audience — clearly and on point. And you can save money while tightening up your writing, as we charge half-price for editing any of your writing projects!

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.