82,891
edits
Murder your darlings: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Specific examples
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
*"We reserve the right to ..." - Wait a minute: Did you just give that right away? If so, you can't reserve it. If you didn't, you've still got it, so - you know - ''shut up already''. | *"We reserve the right to ..." - Wait a minute: Did you just give that right away? If so, you can't reserve it. If you didn't, you've still got it, so - you know - ''shut up already''. | ||
*", whether ... or otherwise," - kill it. Go on, just kill it. You'll feel so much better. | *", whether ... or otherwise," - kill it. Go on, just kill it. You'll feel so much better. | ||
* | *''We may, but shall not be obligated to, ...'': collapses quite happily down to "we may ...". And while we're on the subject, "obligated" is only a word if you're a prolix American. The English verb is "oblige" and it means "must". | ||
* | *''Please be advised/please be aware, please note'': If your intended audience is reading and has the intellectual capacity to comprehend your prose, you may be assured it is being advised, becoming aware, and taking note. If it is not, it won't make a damn of difference. | ||
*''The parties agree that...'': A curiously redundant thing to write, it being an agreement and everything. Try something novel - ''don't say it''. | |||