Becoming a really great writer takes work. But did you know there's one quick trick anyone can do to improve the quality and impact of their writing? (Because there is.)

If you're a frequent/long-time reader of this blog, you've heard me say it before: Cut 20% of your text. From tweets to white papers to short stories to freaking huge novels. Whatever you're writing, try to lop off 20%. Just try. Maybe you don't need to trim that much. Maybe you can cut another 10%. But the simple act of looking over your writing with an eye toward what the reader doesn't actually need is *chef's kiss*.

Simple. Elegant. Works.

That block up there is 110 words. One-fifth of that is 22, creating a target of 88 words. Here's how I got there:

Give it a try. On anything you write today. You'll be surprised how easy and effective it is.

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