Writing demands a certain economy. Extraneous words, flowery phrases, unnecessary details are clutter. Each one comes at a cost to the reader; too many dilutes the value of the text, adding noise instead of signal. Choose only words that will have impact, and include only details that support the theme.
Related
- ensure-the-trunk-of-a-narrative-is-more-substantial-than-the-branches - This concept extrapolated to the larger sense of a work
- marry-form-with-function - Every part of a creative work has purpose and should support the larger theme
Citations
Flaherty, Francis. The Elements of Story: Field Notes on Nonfiction Writing. Reprint edition. Harper Perennial, 2010.
