The Art of Brevity: All About Choices

“Pascal once wrote a long, drawn-out letter to a friend, then apologized in the postscript that he didn’t have time to write a short one. Like Pascal, screenwriters learn that economy is key, that brevity takes time, that excellence means perseverance.”

~Robert McKee

One of my pet projects this year, is rereading one of my favorite writing fundamentals books, “Story” by Robert McKee, and translating his screenwriting lessons to book writing lessons here on my blog, as well as via my #WriterWednesday emails, and daily podcast. 

In his book, McKee uses the quote above to make his point that screenplays are dramatically shorter than books (15,000 words versus 50,000+). So in theory, it should take longer to write a book than a screenplay. 

That theory, he points out – would be wrong.

Because, writing with brevity, or “with economy,” requires more effort than putting every last thought, musing, and piece of description on paper, a luxury held by book writers but not screenwriters. 

Why is writing with brevity, harder?

Great writing requires choices.

Editing, rewriting, and fine tuning, are laces on a corset – the harder and more ruthlessly you pull at them, the tighter the story becomes. 

Decisions must be made on what to keep and what to cut. The better you are at it, the better the final product will be. 

Writing screenplays is the ultimate exercise in brevity and making choices (perhaps outside of ad copywriting). A screenwriter deals in the currency of action and dialogue more than any other types of words. Therefore, the character’s personal account of the event in a novel, becomes a live playing out of that event in the screenplay. That is the nature of the two mediums. 

But the fact is, screenwriters have a limited budget of words available to them to bring stories to life and therefore must shape their work with absolute precision, relying on every word to create mental pictures that move the story forward. 

How can you apply that same precision, even when you have over 3 times the number of words to work with as an author?

Here are 3 ways to apply the art of brevity to your work:

#1: Trust Your Gut

As a writer, your gut instincts and overall “BS radar” are two of your best tools for keeping you on the right track. Don’t override them for purposes like protecting your ego or cutting corners to save time. If your gut is telling you to give your work another pass because it’s “not quite there yet,” that there’s more fat around the bone to be cut – do it. 

#2: Make Brevity a Game

Ask, “What’s the shortest I can reasonably make this sentence without it losing its meaning and/or style?” Challenge yourself!

#3: Better Development

If you’re still having trouble being succinct, and find yourself over explaining things (whether concepts in nonfiction or characters and plot premises in fiction), consider if maybe you’re doing it as a way of getting clear about your own work. How solid are you on the “who, what, why, when, how” of your book? If you’re experiencing frequent cases of verbal diarrhea trying to explain yourself in your writing – perhaps not clear enough.

Writing with brevity is its own art form within the craft of writing. It’s a core writing fundamental which, together with the right productivity and mindset habits, can turn a “non-author” into a published one! 

About the Author: Bestselling celebrity ghostwriter and #1 Amazon bestselling author Christine “Ink” Whitmarsh helps authors, speakers, entrepreneurs, and high profile personalities develop, write and promote books that make a difference in the lives of their readers. Christine resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and when not changing the world with books she enjoys practicing Lyra (aka aerial hoop), and aerial yoga.