Writers Tip #44: Cut Unnecessary Articles
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer’s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
Today’s tip: Cut the unnecessary articles.
Sometimes they sound affected. Other times, they just aren’t necessary to get your message across. Get rid of them. Cut unnecessary articles (a/an, the) for stronger impact.
Not: A sadness washed over her. Try this: Sadness washed over her.
Not: The library contains the information on many subjects. Try this: The library contains information on many subjects.
Here’s a test to see if you can distinguish where they’re needed. It’s short–probably five minutes. See how you do.
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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, CSG Master Teacher, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog,Technology in Education featured blogger, IMS tech expert, and a bi-monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
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