Revising Your Prose For Power And Punch Pdf ✮

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | At the end of the long road, a house stood. | A house stood at the end of the long road. | | After much deliberation, the jury reached a verdict. | The jury reached a verdict after much deliberation. | The last few words of a sentence resonate most. End on a strong, concrete word—not a preposition or weak adjective.

| Passive | Active | |---------|--------| | The ball was hit by John. | John hit the ball. | | Mistakes were made. | I/We/They made mistakes. | revising your prose for power and punch pdf

| Weak ending | Strong ending | |-------------|---------------| | He was a man of great integrity. | He had integrity. | | That is the way things are. | That is reality. | Often, opening qualifiers dilute power. | Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | At

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | There is a problem with the plan. | The plan has a problem. | | It was her habit to arrive late. | She habitually arrived late. | | The point is that we need money. | We need money. | 3.1 Start Strong – Front-Load Your Sentences Put the most important word near the beginning. | The jury reached a verdict after much deliberation

| Wordy | Punchy | |-------|--------| | “Are you coming?” he asked. “No,” she replied. “Why not?” he asked. | “Are you coming?” “No.” “Why not?” | Don’t let characters say exactly what they mean. Punchy dialogue implies.

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | She ran quickly. | She sprinted. | | “No,” he said angrily. | “No,” he snapped. | | He spoke softly. | He murmured. |