The Pleasures of Pruning

How and why to cut your writing

Many nonfiction writers want to include everything related to their topic: each detail, observation and fascinating fact.

Paradoxically, this generous and diligent impulse often reduces the value of the work if the purpose extends beyond sheer entertainment.

Books, articles, and blog posts that explain ideas fill their purpose only when someone learns and remembers the content. Adding “more” simply crowds out that process; not only does the extraneous stuff slide right past us, but we lose our grasp on the essentials. Or, we simply stop reading.

Learn to love the pruning

I have this tendency myself, whether writing a book or creating a course. I want to share everything I know.

Most people are happy to internalize a few key concepts from anything they read. That’s why editing and revising usually involves a lot of pruning.

When writing for blog posts and newsletters, it pays to be ruthless. When writing books, we have more latitude, as people settle in for a while. Still, we must consider the reader and their needs.

For many writers, this pruning seems painful. I’ve come to consider it a magical moment when the project really takes its final shape. My challenges are many: How…