Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Denise Rudnicki is a veteran journalist and broadcaster. She has worked for CBC radio and TV in newsrooms across Canada as a national reporter, producer and host. She also teaches undergraduate journalism at the University of Victoria and professional writing at Royal Roads University.

It was 30 years ago. I was a young reporter watching the evil editor stride towards me, my copy in his hand.

"I don't understand this," he said.

Exasperated, I explained in detail exactly what it meant.

A long pause followed.

"And are you going to explain to each of your readers in person exactly what you meant?"

Hmmm ... The rewrite began immediately.

How to Write Well

William Zinsser, in his classic guide to writing nonfiction On Writing Well says, "Few people realize how badly they write."

Zinsser says clutter is the culprit. "We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon."

Consider this sentence:

"Marxism was significant to the development of feminist theory, because it showed that its theory needed to be worked on. For example, according to the theory, if women didn't work in jobs that produced profits, they would never be uninhibited by men."

Ouch. This writer may not even know what they meant to say, it's certainly true that readers won't either.

Or how about this classic, from a blackout order of 1942:

"Such preparation shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by the Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.'

Give it to an editor and it reads, "If you need to work late, cover the windows."

The Editor-Writer Relationship

Writers and editors have a love/hate relationship. But we both serve the same cause. We want readers to understand. We want them to get what they're looking for. We don't want them clicking to another page.

That means writing that is clear, uncluttered, simple and concise.

More specifically, it means using the right words. It means perfect spelling and grammar. It means knowing what you're writing about. Again, if you don't know, how can your readers know?

Editors help writers clear out the clutter. They help writers say what they mean in simple, clear language. A good editor can take 40-50 per cent out of an article and not lose anything valuable.

That's hard for the writer to take. But think of it this way: now you have 50 per cent more space to write something new!

Getting to Know the Online Reader

Readers don't go to the internet to read. Online readers "use" the internet. For the most part, they're looking for information, not a pleasurable reading experience.

Jakob Nielson studies how people read online. Our eyes jump all over the page. We read 25 per cent slower. He says online users are "selfish, lazy and ruthless." Kind of like people at the midnight buffet on a cruise ship.

As Michael Agger, senior editor at Slate put it, "You, my dear user, pluck the low-hanging fruit. When you arrive on a page, you don't actually deign to read it. You scan. If you don't see what you need, you're gone."

The online reader isn't going to change. It's the writer who needs to change. And it's the editor who is going to help.

Next week, I'll be offering tips on how to improve your online writing from an editor's point of view.

To learn more about Suite101's professional editorial staff, please see our Section Editors page.