Tag: compression

Writing Tight: Compression

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Actors have to be very deliberate in their movement, tone, and expression. They must choose carefully if they want to give the best portrayal of their character. This is the same for writers. My last blog from Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins is taken from Secret # 6, Restraint and Control. She discusses many things in this chapter, but for the sake of being…well, compressed… I’m just going to focus on compression.

What is compression? In Brandilyn’s own words, “compression means finding verbs, adjectives and nouns that are packed with meaning.” Brandilyn says that when you compress your writing, two things happen:

1. Your writing will be more vivid
2. your writing will be tighter

When you write, you want to write tight. Writers hear this a lot. We don’t want superflous words and phrases muddying up our stories. So compression is vital. The key to compression is effective word choice, eliminating excess words, and ruthless editing.

Here’s a very short example of before (compression) and after (compression):

Before:
Brogan sat down in the middle of the floor, took his pacifier out of his mouth, and let out a loud and high-pitched cry.
After:
Brogan plopped onto the floor, uncorked his Nuk, and unleashed an angry wail.
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Questions to Ponder: What kind of reader are you? When you read books, do you like reading long, flowing prose, or do you like the author to get to the point already? What kind of writer are you? Do you write tight the first time around, or is compression something you focus on during revision?

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