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Write Tight: Say Exactly What You Mean with Precision and Power
?These days, most creative-writing courses teach self-indulgence. Write Tight counsels discipline. It is worth more than a university education. Its advice is gold.? -Dean Koontz Foreword by Lawrence Block Not since The Elements of Style has a writing guide had the ability to turn a writer's work around so effectively. Every writer struggles with keeping their prose focused and concise, but surprisingly few books address this essential topic. Write Tight is an informative and utterly readable guide that tackles these issues head-on. William Brohaugh, former editor of Writer's Digest, goes beyond the discussion on redundancy and overwriting to take on evasiveness, affectations, roundabout writing, tangents and ?invisible? words. Other topics include: -Outlining the four levels of wordiness -Identifying 16 types of flabby writing -Exercises that help writers avoid wordiness -Streamlining through sidebars and checklists -Tests that show how concise a writer's prose is ?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.? -Midwest Book Review
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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955 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 29, 2025
Too much jargon, slang, asides, and flippancy. Ideas are over explained. Main ideas are lost in paragraphs of casual asides. The author breaks his own rules constantly. He is wordy and inserts himself into the writing too much. I think he’s trying to be funny?
I kept wishing I was reading Strunk and White's The Elements of Style instead.
I kept wishing I was reading Strunk and White's The Elements of Style instead.
July 25, 2011
Good points, but, weirdly, it's wordy. I found myself really reading the bolded text, which calls out the main concepts, and then only skimming the examples and explanations.
January 27, 2012
Good advice but a little wordy for a book on writing concisely!
April 27, 2018
While there were some good nuggets of information in this book, I honestly felt like he needed to follow his own advice. I felt there was too much word flab to wade through, and I didn't end up finishing the book.
I'd like to see an editor cut the book by half because I think it has a lot to offer, especially to the beginning writer.
In fairness, I've read a ton of writing books, so I might be a harsher critic than someone else.
I'd like to see an editor cut the book by half because I think it has a lot to offer, especially to the beginning writer.
In fairness, I've read a ton of writing books, so I might be a harsher critic than someone else.
May 24, 2014
4.5 out of 5 Stars.
As a writer and editor, I found this book to be useful for every kind of writing I do. I initially read it to help me shave word count on my novel, but I found it to be infinitely useful for the work I do for my day job. There are so many common sense lessons in the book that I easily shaved 10 thousand words off my novel in one revision and I continue to find additional areas to make my writing tighter with each pass.
There are useful checklists, exercises and examples to really help retain the lessons learned. The only thing that kept me from giving this book a full five stars is that it's longer than it needs to be at 240 pages. I feel like it probably would have been fine at about half that.
Bottom Line
This is one of the top ten writing resources I'd recommend to all writers, not just those writing books. Anyone who writes anything for any reason will benefit from the lessons in Write Tight.
As a writer and editor, I found this book to be useful for every kind of writing I do. I initially read it to help me shave word count on my novel, but I found it to be infinitely useful for the work I do for my day job. There are so many common sense lessons in the book that I easily shaved 10 thousand words off my novel in one revision and I continue to find additional areas to make my writing tighter with each pass.
There are useful checklists, exercises and examples to really help retain the lessons learned. The only thing that kept me from giving this book a full five stars is that it's longer than it needs to be at 240 pages. I feel like it probably would have been fine at about half that.
Bottom Line
This is one of the top ten writing resources I'd recommend to all writers, not just those writing books. Anyone who writes anything for any reason will benefit from the lessons in Write Tight.
April 6, 2021
Anytime I pick up a book that teaches how to write properly, I always have these 'ah-ha' moments where I pick up a new tool or learn to break a bad habit. Well, that's what happened when I read this book. There were moments I realised: oh hell I do that. That comes with the territory. But then as I got in a little ways, I realised that much of the things suggested, I already knew. Which isn't a bad thing, because its great to hear someone else confirm what I've been doing for a while. But I guess I gave this book three stars because at some point it becomes a little too basic. Which again isn't bad, because we all need to start somewhere (and often times we may realise we don't know the basics as well as we think!), it just wasn't giving me the charge I got when I first started to read it. Instead I began feeling like it was a slog.
But putting it down for a year or so, when I picked it back up, I read quickly through the things I knew and found new bits that were helpful near the end. Another thing too is that he probably writes more for non-fiction writers, and it become obvious when you think of implementing some of these suggestions in fiction.
But putting it down for a year or so, when I picked it back up, I read quickly through the things I knew and found new bits that were helpful near the end. Another thing too is that he probably writes more for non-fiction writers, and it become obvious when you think of implementing some of these suggestions in fiction.
February 21, 2009
I think about this book a lot. When I was a newspaper columnist I would write what I wanted to say, then use the tricks from this book to winnow it down to the required length without losing any of the meaning I wanted to convey. I did the same thing with my graduate school application essays. In one instance I turned a 500 word essay into 300 words while still saying the same thing.
October 18, 2013
I pick up this book as a writing performance enhancer for my thesis. It teaches ways to make our writing tighter, along with many useful examples in a humorous tone. The book is slightly more towards fictional writing, but all the tips are applicable to academic writing. Check out the bibliography and the author's confession sections to find a lot more useful information.
January 19, 2018
Helpful, witty guide to concise writing. I laughed aloud at some examples of wordy and weak writing. The author would be an entertaining professor of creative writing. The chapter on "sixteen types of wordiness and how to trim them" is specific and helpful. I also appreciate the appendix of redundant phrases and appropriate substitutes. I should memorize this list!
November 7, 2011
I didn't particularly think this author took his own advice to "write tight" but I did learn a lot from this book, especially the lists of trouble words in the back of the book. Definitely recommend this for writers who tend to ramble, like I do.
January 31, 2025
Disclaimer: I didn't pick this book with the intention of nitpicking. However, it was impressed upon me by those on high that this is the bible for style.
---------------
They say those who can't, teach, and it's telling that of all the named books in Brohaugh's list of published works, the majority are books about writing.
He has some basic practical advice like don't use adverbs -- useful if you're someone who struggles to string a sentence together. Altogether, however, the style prescribed by Write Tight has the same depth of character as Bella Swann and the colour and taste profile of British cuisine.
Some of his other advice goes against journalism ethics (don't alter someone's quotes to make them sound more polished and educated), so take it at your own peril.
He mistakes scientific accuracy for redundancies. For example, he laments the use of 'male-pattern baldness', asking whether there is any other kind. To which I would answer, yes, and if he paid any attention to modern high school biology, he would know that the gene for baldness is dominant in men and recessive in women, which means that if a man has one baldness gene, then he will go bald. A woman would need both chromosomes to contain the gene to go bald.
Being written in the 90s, the book advises disempowering language for marginalised communities, such as using 'disabled person' instead of a person living with disabilities, or 'wheelchair-bound' instead of 'someone who uses a wheelchair'. Don't do this. A person who is differently abled is not defined by their health status. A person who uses a wheelchair isn't defined by the wheelchair.
Brohaugh's own prose doesn't follow his own guidelines. In one chapter, he advises against using words that would require readers to bring out a dictionary. In another section, he uses both the words 'penurious' and 'superfluous' -- which leads me to ask how he qualifies the term 'readers'. Having won scholarships in English, I have never come across 'penurious', and 'superfluous' I learned from Jack Sparrow when he was trying to use overly complicated language to confuse some redcoats so he could attempt to steal a ship. And, speaking of redundancies, what's with all the bonsai stories? Just get to the point already.
There are writing books out there written by actual authors (like Stephen King's On Writing). I would recommend reading those instead if you want to learn more about writing that other people would read.
Edited to add:
Brohaugh's tastes are grounded in the fact that he grew up as an American man in the 20th century, and the book was published in 1993. He states early in the book not to state the 'obvious', for instance saying 'pie à la mode' instead of 'pie à la mode with ice cream' (the ice cream part being a redundancy in his mind). While that may be true for American readers, if you are writing with the intention of being read by another audience, the latter is preferable because not everyone serves pie with ice cream. Indeed, in many countries, pies are savoury things filled with meat. It's the same as 'bao bun' or 'naan bread'. The redundancy is to explain to people who don't know the foreign terms what they mean, rather than requiring them to go online and look it up.
Further edited to add:
I now fully believe that Brohaugh published a book on writing not because he had anything to offer, but because as an editor at Reader's Digest and Writer's Digest, as well as someone who has never been a successful writer, he knows more than anyone the desperation of wannabe writers. The good advice he provides had been published by superior practitioners of the craft before, and the examples he provides of his own writing, which he holds up as exemplars of how to write, are AWFUL.
"Thanks" and Bobby was slamming screen doors and pedaling off to the grocery store. (Write Tight, p.162) He says of this atrocity of a sentence, that it 'has flow to it, continuing action, the sentnece not bothering to stop from the time Bobby is saying "Thanks" to his hopping on his bike and scooting storeward, just as Bobby himself doesn't bother to stop. By using weak verbs, I have made a stronger sentence.'
Like... What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Not to mention he actually recommended committing grammatical mistakes simply for the sake of shortening something by two letters, yet just a few pages later, laments a newspaper's discarding of 'a' in a headline -- because how much space could it save, right?
The only saving grace of this book is the Apologia in the back, which advises us not to take any writing advice as a rule. Thank you, sir. I shall take that advice.
---------------
They say those who can't, teach, and it's telling that of all the named books in Brohaugh's list of published works, the majority are books about writing.
He has some basic practical advice like don't use adverbs -- useful if you're someone who struggles to string a sentence together. Altogether, however, the style prescribed by Write Tight has the same depth of character as Bella Swann and the colour and taste profile of British cuisine.
Some of his other advice goes against journalism ethics (don't alter someone's quotes to make them sound more polished and educated), so take it at your own peril.
He mistakes scientific accuracy for redundancies. For example, he laments the use of 'male-pattern baldness', asking whether there is any other kind. To which I would answer, yes, and if he paid any attention to modern high school biology, he would know that the gene for baldness is dominant in men and recessive in women, which means that if a man has one baldness gene, then he will go bald. A woman would need both chromosomes to contain the gene to go bald.
Being written in the 90s, the book advises disempowering language for marginalised communities, such as using 'disabled person' instead of a person living with disabilities, or 'wheelchair-bound' instead of 'someone who uses a wheelchair'. Don't do this. A person who is differently abled is not defined by their health status. A person who uses a wheelchair isn't defined by the wheelchair.
Brohaugh's own prose doesn't follow his own guidelines. In one chapter, he advises against using words that would require readers to bring out a dictionary. In another section, he uses both the words 'penurious' and 'superfluous' -- which leads me to ask how he qualifies the term 'readers'. Having won scholarships in English, I have never come across 'penurious', and 'superfluous' I learned from Jack Sparrow when he was trying to use overly complicated language to confuse some redcoats so he could attempt to steal a ship. And, speaking of redundancies, what's with all the bonsai stories? Just get to the point already.
There are writing books out there written by actual authors (like Stephen King's On Writing). I would recommend reading those instead if you want to learn more about writing that other people would read.
Edited to add:
Brohaugh's tastes are grounded in the fact that he grew up as an American man in the 20th century, and the book was published in 1993. He states early in the book not to state the 'obvious', for instance saying 'pie à la mode' instead of 'pie à la mode with ice cream' (the ice cream part being a redundancy in his mind). While that may be true for American readers, if you are writing with the intention of being read by another audience, the latter is preferable because not everyone serves pie with ice cream. Indeed, in many countries, pies are savoury things filled with meat. It's the same as 'bao bun' or 'naan bread'. The redundancy is to explain to people who don't know the foreign terms what they mean, rather than requiring them to go online and look it up.
Further edited to add:
I now fully believe that Brohaugh published a book on writing not because he had anything to offer, but because as an editor at Reader's Digest and Writer's Digest, as well as someone who has never been a successful writer, he knows more than anyone the desperation of wannabe writers. The good advice he provides had been published by superior practitioners of the craft before, and the examples he provides of his own writing, which he holds up as exemplars of how to write, are AWFUL.
"Thanks" and Bobby was slamming screen doors and pedaling off to the grocery store. (Write Tight, p.162) He says of this atrocity of a sentence, that it 'has flow to it, continuing action, the sentnece not bothering to stop from the time Bobby is saying "Thanks" to his hopping on his bike and scooting storeward, just as Bobby himself doesn't bother to stop. By using weak verbs, I have made a stronger sentence.'
Like... What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Not to mention he actually recommended committing grammatical mistakes simply for the sake of shortening something by two letters, yet just a few pages later, laments a newspaper's discarding of 'a' in a headline -- because how much space could it save, right?
The only saving grace of this book is the Apologia in the back, which advises us not to take any writing advice as a rule. Thank you, sir. I shall take that advice.
October 14, 2019
Some useful points for sure, but also intermingled with advice that could detract from the painterly quality that great writing and words can achieve (i.e. writing that doesn't overdo the exercise of terse confinement and truncation).
I found the book could have been more concise in some areas, fitting to its stated goal. Overall, good direction on tightening flabby prose, but requires discernment and a good ear to avoid making one's writing machine-like and rigid. Great writing sings, and thankfully the author devotes a solid chapter near the end on not being "too tight."
Overall I'm rating this as a good read, since it has enough practical material on clarity and precision -- imparted from an experienced writer/editor -- to keep one's writing across various forms pointed in a sound direction.
I found the book could have been more concise in some areas, fitting to its stated goal. Overall, good direction on tightening flabby prose, but requires discernment and a good ear to avoid making one's writing machine-like and rigid. Great writing sings, and thankfully the author devotes a solid chapter near the end on not being "too tight."
Overall I'm rating this as a good read, since it has enough practical material on clarity and precision -- imparted from an experienced writer/editor -- to keep one's writing across various forms pointed in a sound direction.
May 10, 2024
If you want to write, you should do it right. That means writing tight. And Brohaugh's Write Tight explains how to do it--in detail. While one might expect a book devoted to how to write well to be a yawner, Write Tight isn't. Yes, it's instructional, but it's also filled with humor and a self-deprecating view of the author's prior poor attempts at writing. The book isn't a "page turner," but that's great. The reader needs to slowly digest the tips and tools offered. To improve your writing, sit tight and read write tight.
April 23, 2019
Good book on writing concise and with meaning.
January 17, 2021
Great lessons on consistent and direct writing, even though the book is self-indulgent at times.
June 29, 2021
The book provides helpful tips on how to truncate your writings.
June 1, 2016
Leaving aside the grammatical licence taken with the title, this is a good book to have in one's armoury. We writers are always being told to cut out superfluous detail and extraneous words, but it's not always easy to do so.
The reason is that we often don't even realise we're doing it. For example, I was going to start this article by saying:
"I was walking around a used book store when I came across this little gem that I think will be really useful."
But then I read this, from Write Tight:
"In today's newspaper... one story began: 'I remember the Friday afternoon I first made the acquaintance of Tony.' How nice. Is this a story about the author, a personal essay? No. It's a roundup article listing the various Cincinnati ethnic groceries, one of which Tony runs. So why is the first word we read I? Why is the first character we meet I? Why is I standing in the way of what readers want to see?"
Oops!
See what I mean?
With chapter titles like "Sixteen types of wordiness and how to trim them", "Testing your writing for flab" and "A Baedeker of the Redundant", the book tackles verbosity relentlessly. Fortunately, the author's writing style is jaunty enough to not make one feel an utter failure!
From what I've read so far, I recommend this book, but with one caveat. The version I bought is an older edition. This is a later edition, whose chapter headings are the same, but whose contents I haven't actually read.
The reason is that we often don't even realise we're doing it. For example, I was going to start this article by saying:
"I was walking around a used book store when I came across this little gem that I think will be really useful."
But then I read this, from Write Tight:
"In today's newspaper... one story began: 'I remember the Friday afternoon I first made the acquaintance of Tony.' How nice. Is this a story about the author, a personal essay? No. It's a roundup article listing the various Cincinnati ethnic groceries, one of which Tony runs. So why is the first word we read I? Why is the first character we meet I? Why is I standing in the way of what readers want to see?"
Oops!
See what I mean?
With chapter titles like "Sixteen types of wordiness and how to trim them", "Testing your writing for flab" and "A Baedeker of the Redundant", the book tackles verbosity relentlessly. Fortunately, the author's writing style is jaunty enough to not make one feel an utter failure!
From what I've read so far, I recommend this book, but with one caveat. The version I bought is an older edition. This is a later edition, whose chapter headings are the same, but whose contents I haven't actually read.
October 7, 2015
Today I completed my second reading of this book. Writers of anything need to read Write Tight. It's the most valuable book on writing I've ever read because it's filled with practical knowledge and tools, with plenty of accompanying examples, that will change the way you write for the better.
My creative writing professors told me that every word in a piece should have purpose and, in response to my writing, my sentences went on a few words too long and sapped them of impact. While I believed them and tried to incorporate that knowledge into my writing, I didn't understand how to. Write Tight explores the broad (focus and organization of a whole piece) to the nitty gritty (cliche phrases, contractions,...) in teaching you how to precise, original, and with power.
William Brohaugh does not espouse 'cut-to-the-bone' sparse writing. Rather, he balances clarity, 'mental length', rhythm, creativit, and what's appropriate for the situation. If you are a writer or aspiring writer, read this. Buy it. Put it on your bookshelf so that you can consult it over and over again during your writing life. It provides a necessary education that you might not get from anywhere else.
My creative writing professors told me that every word in a piece should have purpose and, in response to my writing, my sentences went on a few words too long and sapped them of impact. While I believed them and tried to incorporate that knowledge into my writing, I didn't understand how to. Write Tight explores the broad (focus and organization of a whole piece) to the nitty gritty (cliche phrases, contractions,...) in teaching you how to precise, original, and with power.
William Brohaugh does not espouse 'cut-to-the-bone' sparse writing. Rather, he balances clarity, 'mental length', rhythm, creativit, and what's appropriate for the situation. If you are a writer or aspiring writer, read this. Buy it. Put it on your bookshelf so that you can consult it over and over again during your writing life. It provides a necessary education that you might not get from anywhere else.
August 25, 2022
Fantastic! A book to benefit all writers.
Don't be deterred by reviews claiming Brohaugh doesn't follow his own advice. Sour grapes, every one. These missed his explanation we must not follow rules by rote and his "Apologia." Though, I admit, I wish he had paid closer attention to his rule about excising "that."
You will not agree with every rule, instruction, or recommendation. You may be annoyed he doesn't use the Oxford comma. You might even find a mistake or two. However, if you read, accept, and apply merely half of Brohaugh's advice, you will write better.
Don't be deterred by reviews claiming Brohaugh doesn't follow his own advice. Sour grapes, every one. These missed his explanation we must not follow rules by rote and his "Apologia." Though, I admit, I wish he had paid closer attention to his rule about excising "that."
You will not agree with every rule, instruction, or recommendation. You may be annoyed he doesn't use the Oxford comma. You might even find a mistake or two. However, if you read, accept, and apply merely half of Brohaugh's advice, you will write better.
June 13, 2012
Great advice for writers! I find myself agreeing with what Mr. Brohaugh says nearly all the time, and while he may not be the wittiest writer around, he captures my interest and fascination and holds it there. There is an unsettling lack of prose examples to substantiate his points, but otherwise, a great self-help book.
April 15, 2012
I recommend this book to those whose work entails writing. This book teaches how to minimize words, to avoid the looooong and "rambling" road!!!
It shows that one can be brief, yet complete and clear.
It shows that one can be brief, yet complete and clear.
July 17, 2013
I read it once, then began to shorten a manuscript.
I read it a second time, and learned how to cut even more.
Every time I write my own words, or edit another writer's work, I think back on the lessons I learned in Write Tight.
I read it a second time, and learned how to cut even more.
Every time I write my own words, or edit another writer's work, I think back on the lessons I learned in Write Tight.
November 22, 2008
I never knew there were so many mistakes to make in writing. This book gives great advice for cutting the flab in writing.
December 9, 2010
Essential reading for writers! It made me a better writer and can do the same for you.
July 30, 2014
Five stars isn't enough...
December 13, 2012
Truly made me a much better writer - worth every penny and then some.
January 31, 2014
Excellent tool for any writer. I highly recommend.
December 25, 2014
Needs better formating. Also too wordy.
March 31, 2016
Took a lot of pointers from this one. Highly recommend.
Funny, too.
Funny, too.
February 18, 2017
Will re-read this often. Great, concrete writing instruction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews