As a creative director, this may sound odd. But I spend as much time taking things away from creative ideas as I do adding to them.
Editing is a very misunderstood and undervalued creative craft. It’s not just grammatical nitpicking.
At its best, it’s more like good gardening – clearing away undergrowth to allow the message to live and breathe.
Here are a few tips for editing yourself and others:
Read the draft aloud. Or at least move your lips. Sounds odd, but trust me.
Verbosity and vagueness are the enemy more often than insufficient detail. It’s good to leave people wanting more.
Cut flab. Cut words, sentences, and paragraphs. If you need reassurance, ask how often you’ve read something and thought ‘That was just a bit too short’, and how often you’ve thought the opposite.
It’s easy to lose focus on the essentials. Keep what, who and why in mind – form, audience and purpose.
Try to ask ‘Can I cut 25% from this?’ when editing your own work.
By Paul Coupar-Hennessy
As a creative director, this may sound odd. But I spend as much time taking things away from creative ideas as I do adding to them.
Editing is a very misunderstood and undervalued creative craft. It’s not just grammatical nitpicking.
At its best, it’s more like good gardening – clearing away undergrowth to allow the message to live and breathe.
Here are a few tips for editing yourself and others: