Have you ever read the first draft of some copy against the final version and wondered—aside from some spelling and grammar fixes—what made it read better? Or, have you ever read something that was technically clean but gives an amateur or unprofessional vibe? A lot of times, it’s not necessarily due to poor grammar, or sentence construction, or bad spelling, or insufficient research—it’s due to habit.
Many of us have writing “crutches”—words, stylistic choices, phrases we fall back on again and again and use far too often in our written work. We use them because it’s become a habit. It’s easy and comes to mind quickly when we write. And quite often these crutches aren’t bad writing—it might be a great, four-syllable word you’re confident with or a really striking metaphor. But, as with many aspects of life (aside from good friends, success and Meryl Streep movies), there can be too much of a good thing.
Identifying—and learning to catch—your own crutch(es) is difficult; it takes practice and self-awareness. But there are some tricks to help you out. Reading out loud will force you to hear repeated words, phrases, sounds and structures. Also, listen to others’ critiques of your writing. Anything popping up more than once? Probably not a coincidence.
So, you’ve identified your weak spot—how to fix it? Again, reading out loud (at least at first) is a great fix for a lot of writing problems that our eyes and quick-typing fingers tend to glaze over. And by read out loud, I don’t mean gather your coworkers and stand at a podium—simply leaning into your computer screen and whispering the words to yourself will do.
There’s also the handy “search/find” function. If you’re an adverb junkie, search within your document by typing in “ly” and see how many times you write quickly, or precisely, or wonderfully. Adverbs are fine in moderation, but can weigh down copy if used too often—especially in ads. This vigilance is also important for proposals and other more professional business documents, when you may be trying to ensure (an easy word to over use in proposals) that the recipient knows you’re qualified for the job—watch for repeated ensures, or expertises, or experiences, or adepts, or additionallys.
Once you know your writing well enough, you’ll know what your crutches are and can more easily scope them out and replace them with something fresh.
-Danny Bracco
Director of Communications