Succinct

In my Introduction to Professional Writing class (which was my third PWR class), we were given the assignment to write about ourselves as an author. I turned in a paper with three words: I am succinct.

My teacher happened to love it. And yet, when she returned my paper, she had written some notes on it. The one I remember was, What about "Succinct"? There is so much to play with here. I actually got offended at that message. The whole point of the essay is that there isn't anything to play with.

I ran across this paper recently and when I saw the message in red ink, it still bothered me and I had to figure out why. What does it mean to be succinct? It means that I use as few words as possible. Ok, so why would it be wrong to simply say "Succinct"? Because unless the title of my essay was "How I Describe Myself As An Author", which it wasn't, then the word by itself is meaningless.

And that's when it dawned on me. My version was a full sentence. It is short, sweet, and ends on a staccato. When you say that sentence, it's impossible to not pound your hand on the table when you say 'succinct.' But, if that was the only word in the sentence, it will leave more people confused than impressed

Being succinct means using as few words as possible, but not being bare bones. You still have to get your point across. You still have to have style and voice and power. You can even include the occasional flourish in your writing as long as it serves your purpose. Because that is what succinctness is all about: getting to the point.

I am still succinct. My first drafts tend to be wordy (so I understand if you disagree with me), but I slash and burn when I edit. It is an effective style and I recommend that anybody try it out. Just make sure you use enough words to do what you're trying to do.