Joseph Story Quotes

I think precision in writing goes hand in hand with not trying to say everything. You try and say two-thirds, so the reader will involve himself or herself.

Good writing does not come from verbiage but from words.

Vigorous writing is concise.

Be brief. Above all things be brief.

Conciseness is underrated

It has often been said there’s so much to be read, you never can cram all those words in your head. So the writer who breeds more words than he needs is making a chore for the reader who reads. That's why my belief is the briefer the brief is, the greater the sigh of the reader's relief is. And that's why your books have such power and strength. You publish with shorth! (Shorth is better than length.)

Hard writing makes easy reading.

Omit needless words.

Never be so brief as to become obscure.

Brevity and conciseness are the parents of correction.

You know that I write slowly. This is chiefly because I am never satisfied until I have said as much as possible in a few words, and writing briefly takes far more time than writing at length.

But the shortest works are always the best.

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.

Through an arbitrary problem, I had arrived at a tenet of good writing: brevity wins.

It is very tough to make a short film. It's like writing a short story, which is tougher than writing a novel. You can't afford to faff around; you can't indulge. You have to get to the point.

I am a stickler for damn good writing.

People who want to express themselves effectively can learn a lot from the hard-won concision of the copywriter.

I am a minimalist. I like saying the most with the least.

Whatever you want to teach, be brief.

The best way to make a long story short is to stop listening.

The secret of play-writing can be given in two maxims: stick to the point, and, whenever you can, cut.

I think in most cases, unless you're writing about a character who is garrulous, you say what you've got to say and then get out. Those little conjunctions, those little turnaround words help you do it. That's the way I like to write: I get rid of things rather than add them.

Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.

More matter with less art.