Why Cut? How To Know Which Should You Cut When Writing

Have you ever read a long, elongated article? It’s not just hard to read, it’s boring! Yes, it might be educational, but who’s going to read an article like that?

I won’t, would you?

The best writers cut more than they add

Cutting is an absolutely essential part of writing! If you don’t cut, you won't just get bad content, you’ll also get other consequences for being a part of that.

In this article, you’ll learn not only why a writer should cut but also what you should cut.

Why Cut?

Cutting a block of text and not cutting at all can result in a lot of things.

Like a domino effect, that piece of redundant line that you should’ve cut could make your audience hate you which leads to your readers not buying your product/trusting you.

It’s important to learn how to cut things out more.

It’s sometimes said great writers spend 60% of their time rewriting. By the end of their writing, they usually have roughly about 20% of their original content cut out.

Some people when they hear this, they feel a little bit discouraged because they don’t want their precious writing to be cut out. They think if they add more content, it’s going to be good.

That can work, but if your writing is clogged with context and descriptions that the readers don’t care, nobody’s going to read that article.

What you should know about writing is that "writing is not editing" and "editing is also not writing" (stick with me now).

Both things are their own art.

If you want to be a great writer, you also need to know how to be a great editor. One of the most fundamental things to learn is to cut stuff out.

But the question is, what should I cut?

Context Is Not Key

Context. Cut context if you feel the text doesn’t support anything whatsoever. Only keep it when it’s necessary.

From the context, I mean the background of a situation or something.

Why shouldn’t I give context? Here’s a good example, you’re a writer applying for a job in content writing. When the employer asks you about your skills, you don’t tell a whole backstory about how you learned it and all that stuff unless you’re asked.

A Rule Of Thumb

If you want to know a little rule of thumb. Here’s what you should cut out:

Delete your first paragraph, usually, it's unnecessary unless it's straight to the point.

The reason why you should cut your first paragraph is that it’s usually not that great. The most important piece in writing is the first paragraph.

It tells the reader what it’s all about and how you’ll convey it. If the content is clogged with unnecessary information at the beginning/it begins with context, your reader will be bored and clicks out as quickly as possible.

Another rule of thumb is to change hard words into simpler words.

Instead of trying to look smarter than your readers, make them feel like they’re smarter than you.

No, doing that will not make you look dumb as a writer, doing that will make you more trustworthy!

Let's face it, you wouldn’t trust a salesman that’s all trying to look and sound professional, you know they’re either trying too hard or trying to rip you off.

Conclusion

Now that you know why and what you should cut. It’s time for you to fix that content of yours.

Remember: The best writers cut more than they add.

Use that knowledge to your advantage next time you’re writing that email to your readers, a potential client or even your boss.