“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.” Emily Dickinson

I love quotes. They are like little golden nuggets of great writing. They catch something tight inside you and they make it shimmer. Maybe the secret of great writing is to make sure every sentence is worthy of being quoted. When you write tight, every word counts. When you write loose, you assume your readers will stick with you, that they are totally invested in what you are saying. Tight writing is all in the edit, and editing is a writer’s job. Yes, writing is a form of free expression, but your readers have the choice of when to stop. On that note, I’ll shut up and give you my top tight writing tips.

Don’t:

* mistake the first draft for…