Four ways to put your copy on a diet

Now that spring is here, you may be thinking you need to slim down for bathing suit season. But your waistline might not be the only area needing reduction: your writing may need to lose a few pounds too.

Here's how to get rid of those extra words and flabby paragraphs to make your writing leaner and more fit:

		Create a meal plan – People are more likely to stick to their diet if they plan ahead. When you're writing, make sure you decide on one, clear point to focus on to avoid going off on a tangent.
	Avoid junk food – It's tasty, but dieters stay away from junk food because it has no nutritional value. Writers should avoid buzzwords that sound impressive, but provide little meaning, such as "paradigm" or "enterprise-wide."
	Choose smaller portions – People love those 100-calorie snack packs because they satisfy hunger and prevent overeating. When writing an e-mail, limit the message to 50 words to help recipients get the information they need more quickly.
	Exercise daily – Diets work better when you stay active. When you're writing a headline, make it clear what you want people to do by using active verbs such as "sign up" or "remember."