The Dictionary of Concise Writing

by Robert Hartwell Fiske

Marion Street Press, August, 2002.
Paperback, 412 pages.
ISBN: 0966517660

The Dictionary of Concise Writing by Robert Hartwell Fiske

Concise writing has always been crucial for journalists and communications professionals. However, the need for concise writing has expanded substantially with the demand for short articles and pieces in web magazines, online newspapers and websites. This book begins with a chapter explaining why concise writing is so important, and offers practical suggestions about how to make your writing more concise. The chapter also points out numerous ways wordiness creeps into our writing. The bulk of the book is the dictionary itself, which is a very useful collection of wordy phrases that can be shortened or deleted. Each entry includes a list of short alternative words and a sentence showing how the shorter alternative word or phrase works. For example, excruciatingly painful becomes excruciating or painful, in spite of the fact that becomes although or even though and window of opportunity becomes chance or opportunity. This dictionary's author, Robert Hartwell Fiske, is also the publisher of The Vocabula Review, an online journal about the English language. The Dictionary of Concise Writing is a must-have resource for journalists and writers. It contains thousands of ways to trim your sentences and strengthen your prose.

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This review was published in the October - November, 2002 of The Internet Writing Journal.