Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise [Hardcover]

William Brohaugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

Writing well is, or at least should be, the goal of every writer and aspiring author. William Brohaugh, in this classic writing reference, shows how to do just that—achieve a high standard of writing. In Write Tight, Brohaugh teaches how to not only say exactly what you want with grace and power, using the right word, but also how to use the right number of words. Concerns examined range from unnecessary book chapters to unnecessary syllables. Taking the reader into the realm of tight writing, Brohaugh shows that good writing is often the balance of the tight and the loose.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Brohaugh's book reminds us that brevity is the soul of wit and that English is a mix of rules and exceptions to those rules. An editor for Writer's Digest , he has written extensively about the craft. This self-help work aimed at the active writer contains 192 pages identifying and correcting the many errors made by those who write seriously. It assumes knowledge of grammar and instead emphasizes style. The chapters are broken into short sections with bold topic sentences each supported by examples. This, with the promised index, should make this book useful as a quick reference tool. Also included is an appendix of redundant phrases. The occasional comparisons to the care of bonsai and the good humor sprinkled throughout aid in readability and comprehension. Recommended for public and academic libraries and for individuals who care about their writing skills.
- Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. Information Svcs., North Billerica, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

William Brohaugh is a former editor of Writer’s Digest and editorial director of Writer’s Digest Books. He is the author of Professional Etiquette for Writers and English Through the Ages.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882926889
• ISBN-13: 978-1882926886
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wordiness is your enemy, April 13, 2003

By 

D. M. North (Flintstone, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise (Hardcover)

As a beginning opinion columnist I quickly learned that wordiness can kill your column. How do you get the greatest effect with only 700 words? Brohaugh's book tells you.

The principles he discusses in Write Tight apply to columnists, reporters, technical writers, or novelists. Whether you write for fun or profit, his advice will make your work more impactful. The world is full of books on better writing, so why is Brohaugh's book special? It's actually fun to read.

His illustrations of wordiness are often hilarious even when his heavy shoe stomps your toes. Rather than just list poor choices of words, grammar, and style, he weaves them into his writing to show how silly and wasteful they are.

If you write, you need to Write Tight.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all beginning writers, September 20, 2001

By 

mary wright (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise (Hardcover)

If you haven't read the MLA, or Chicago Manual of Style, you gotta read this book! No writer should be without a copy. It reads like an expansion of The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. If you can find a copy, buy it. It will make an excellent gift for any writer.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical guide to focusing one's message with grace, simplicity, and power, January 3, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise (Hardcover)

Former editor of "Writer's Digest" magazine William Brohaugh presents Write Tight: How To Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused And Concise, a practical guide to focusing one's message with grace, simplicity, and power, especially in today's attention-span deprived world of sound bites and distractions. From removing unnecessary syllables to excising gratuitous chapters, Write Tight identifies sixteen types of "flabby" writing (which says too little with too much verbage), offers "verbal aerobics" to hone one's skills, and even offers nonverbal devices such as sidebars and checklists to streamline one's manuscripts. Write Tight is a supremely valuable, "must-have" for aspiring writers in all fields from prose to nonfiction, journalistic copy, screenwriting and so much more.