Take Steven McDermott’s highlighter test:
Pick the most recent story you have “finished.” Now, using three different colored highlighters, mark the “to be” verb forms in one color, the adverbs in another color, and all the remaining verbs with the third color. You know what the task is. Excise as many of the “to be” verbs and adverbs as you can. Make the remaining verbs as precise as you can. Let the story sit for a week. Repeat the process. If you like the results (and trust me, you will), go after the nouns and adjectives next. Try to replace all indefinite pronouns (e.g. “it”) with a noun. Results are guaranteed. Maybe writing can’t be taught, but revision techniques such as that sure can.
Filed under: writing
