Prune but don't destroy

Cutting down your draft is a great idea. Hack into it!

But…

You can hack too much off.

Imagine your first draft is an overgrown shrub. You want to trim it into something people find appealing.

In writing terms, that means concise and complete.

You don’t want to hack it back to a sad little stump.

For example:

To begin a piece of advice, you might write your advice and then your most convincing reasons. 

You should invest in company x
Of the 4 companies you asked me to consider:

  • company x matches your risk profile

  • it best fits your criteria for ethical investing 

  • it’s likely to give you a strong return on investment in 5 years’ time.

If you hack it back too far, it could look like this.

You should invest in company x

  • Risk profile match

  • Ethical investing

  • Best ROI over 5 years

Noooo! The flow is gone! The logic is hard to follow. The reader has to work hard to fill the meaning gaps you’ve left.

The fix?

Write complete sentences. 

If it’s shorter than a complete sentence, your reader has to guess what words you left out and string your meaning together.

Do this whether you’re writing paragraphs or lists

This is a complete sentence.

This is also:

  • a complete sentence.

Prune but don’t destroy.