Quotes About Conciseness

The novel tends to tell us everything,' wrote V.S. Pritchett in his introduction to the Oxford Book of Short Stories, 'whereas the short story tells us only one thing, and that, intensely'.

To cut and tighten sentences is the secret of mastery.

To say more while saying less is the secret of being simple.

To write good poems is the secret of brevity.

If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought.

All well-written e-mails are basically very short and to-the-point.Shakespeare had said it most appropriately centuries ago "Brevity is soul of the wit"; which applies to e-mails of 21st century perfectly. In my view, the secret of a good e-mail is that it has a good beginning as well as a good ending, with both being pretty close to each other.

The secret of writing a good e-mail is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to keep the two as close together as possible with effective message in between. Good e-mail writing is always 1% inspiration, and 99% elimination.

If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought.

Less isn't more; just enough is more.

The wise leader speaks rarely and briefly. After all, no other natural outpouring goes on and on. It rains and then it stops. It thunders and then it stops.

A good writer gets better only by learning to cut, to remove the ornamental, the descriptive, the narrative, and especially the deeply felt and meaningful. What remains? The story remains.

Don't go into great detail describing places and things… You don't want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill.

Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

One note from one bird is better than a million words...

It's always a good feeling when you can produce just the right one-liner to prove your point so tidily.

Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words.

It is not fit to spin out history with petty details.

Sesquihoral (adj.) Lasting an hour and a half. Because sometimes you just don't feel like saying "an hour and a half." Short-thinker

With comedies, often shorter is better. You don't want to outstay your welcome.

I like films that are well-written and concise and with not a lot of room for improvisation.

If you consistently write 'The sun set' rather than 'The sun sank slowly in the bright western sky,' your story will move three times as fast. Of course, there are times you want the longer version for atmosphere - but not many. Wordiness not only kills pace; it bores readers.

The pitch should be very clear about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and why I should care. If you can cover those things quickly and precisely, it's easy for me to decide whether I want to spend more time with you or not.

The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement.

There is nothing more difficult to define than an aphorism.