Not to be—that is the answer.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet uttered, “To be or not to be, that is the question ….“ in a despondent mood. Questioning his own will to live, he wallowed in despair with no economy of expression whatsoever. In fact, he rather went on and on about it.

If you wrote that speech today, people would accuse you of being paid by the word.

Poetic, lyrical writing still exists, but most of us write for more practical reasons. Non-artistic writing communicates. It persuades, educates, warns, or amuses its audience. Everyday writing includes news reports, business communications, emails, web pages, social media posts, advertising, and a host of other categories.

Although different from each other, all types work better when they’re concise.

The various ways to make your writing more concise could fill a book. In fact, they have filled several. Some of these books, ironically, are not concise at all. But you can start looking for a common culprit in your own writing today – forms of the verb to be.

In English, to be verb forms include is, was, are, were, have been, is being, and am being, for example. Any sentence beginning with There (as in There are… or There is …) can be improved. Although that is not always involved, it’s often a telltale sign:

Before:  There are some issues that the committee is not going to consider until next week.

After:  The committee postponed some issues until next week.

Before: There were so many movies that were good to choose from that we could not decide which one to see.

After:  We could not decide which of the many good movies to see.

Before:  Whenever there were controls that were lifted, there was chaos and rampant bad behavior.

After: Chaos and bad behavior followed the elimination of controls.

To be verb forms often function as filler words. They leave the impression you’re avoiding or postponing the point of the sentence. Concentrate on the subject and what you want to say about it. Then just say it.

Will this tip protect you against all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? No, but it will give you some arms against a sea of troubles. You just have to practice and learn how to use it.

Aye, there’s the rub.

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