Today's prompt is adapted from a book called Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creative Writer. This collection of 'tips' from assorted authors includes a chapter on revision, and though we're focusing on micro editing this week, I think John Smolens' contribution "On the Wheel: Revising the Personal Essay" fits our needs nicely.
Using the first draft of an essay (or a previous response to a prompt) you've already finished, write a second draft without going any longer than eighty percent of the number of words used in the first draft. "The intention is to provide the reader with the same experience as in the first draft, only in a more concise fashion."
He suggests eliminating modifiers, of course, and using the active vs. passive voice and also to edit one paragraph, "...distilling it until you've said the same thing in one sentence."
[[i turned in the first half of what i posted on saturday]]
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