[QUOTE=KGS]
Too many writers ignore the most important rule of style: OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS.
I don’t read much non-fiction, but I see it all the time in works of fiction, especially with overly verbose writers like J.K. Rowling, and especially Stephen King. I’m a writer myself, so I understand the problem. As a writer, you have all these ideas. They excite you, and inspire you. You want to tell the world, every single idea in your head. Writing is an inherently narcissistic art form, so it’s very easy to forget, the most important thing is not your ideas, not the person expressing them, but the Reader – your audience, the people to whom you are expressing your ideas. After all, they are the ones who are buying your books, giving you M-O-N-E-Y so you can afford to quit your day job and keep on writing, keep on coming up with more ideas.
That’s why every good writer needs an equally good editor. If you can’t find a good editor, you have to do it yourself. Identify the most important ideas, the critical elements that sell your story, or the premise you established in the introductory chapter. The rest…get rid of 'em. Break out the old red pen and start slashing away. (The writer’s term for this, by the way, is “killing your children” – and yes, sometimes it feels exactly like that.)
Of course, words aren’t real children – this ain’t Sophie’s Choice here. So figure out what point you want to make, and what words need to be said to support your point. Eliminate the rest. Otherwise, your audience will wind up on the Internet somewhere, complaining about how you talk too damn much. 
[/QUOTE]
can be pared down to this by removing words, without changing meaning (though some emphasis is lost):
Too many writers ignore the most important rule of style: OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS.
I don’t read much non-fiction, but I see it all the time in fiction, especially with verbose writers like J.K. Rowling, and Stephen King. I’m a writer, so I understand. As a writer, you have all these ideas. They excite you, and inspire you. You want to tell the world, every single idea in your head. Writing is a narcissistic art form, so it’s easy to forget, the most important thing is not your ideas, not the person expressing them, but the Reader – your audience, the people to whom you are expressing your ideas. After all, they are the ones who are buying your books, giving you M-O-N-E-Y so you can afford to quit your day job and keep on writing, keep on coming up with more ideas.
That’s why every good writer needs a good editor. If you can’t find a good editor, you have to do it yourself. Identify the most important ideas, the critical elements that sell your story, or the premise you established in the introductory chapter. The rest…get rid of 'em. Break out the old red pen and start slashing away. (The writer’s term for this, by the way, is “killing your children” – and yes, sometimes it feels exactly like that.)
words aren’t children – this ain’t Sophie’s Choice here. So figure out what point you want to make, and what words need to be said to support your point. Eliminate the rest. Otherwise, your audience will wind up on the Internet, complaining about how you talk too much.
*
If we want to eliminate excess sentences, we can go down to, however the idea idea is kind of downplayed in this version:
*
Too many writers ignore the most important rule of style: OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS.
I don’t read much non-fiction, but I see it all the time in fiction, especially with verbose writers like J.K. Rowling, and Stephen King. I’m a writer, so I understand. As a writer, you have all these ideas. You want to tell the world, every single idea in your head. Writing is a narcissistic art form, so it’s very easy to forget, the most important thing is the Reader. After all, they are the ones who are buying your books, giving you M-O-N-E-Y.
That’s why every good writer needs an equally good editor. If you can’t find a good editor, you have to do it yourself. Identify the most important ideas. The rest…get rid of 'em.
So figure out what point you want to make, and what words need to be said to support your point. Eliminate the rest. Otherwise, your audience will wind up on the Internet somewhere, complaining about how you talk too damn much.
*
you can thank me later 
