‘Weeding’ Is Useful for First-Time Writers.
It brings clarity to your writing voice.
I volunteer at a community farm once a week. I spent most of my time weeding. It is backbreaking under the hot sun. My arms would itch with insect bites.
But it is a must because we do not want weeds to eat up the nutrients meant for the trees or plants. We want healthy fruits and vegetables.
Like writing, weeding your article before publishing is essential. Vet your article for inconsequential words. It helps with focus and makes it easier for readers to understand what you wish to convey.
Here are some ‘weeding’ habits I find helpful as a non-native English speaker.
1) Weed out long sentences, stay under 10–15 words. You might want to limit the usage of ‘and.’ They are usually the culprit of long ‘weedy’ sentences. Use ‘new paragraphs’ to improve the soil.
2) Weed out ‘that,’ ‘so’ or ‘too’ — does not add value to the sentence. Emphasizing the adjective makes no difference to your point. It diverts nutrients from your plants. Readers are smart. They will figure out what you wish to say. (psst.. I like using those three words a lot!)
3) Weed out ‘still’- when you are using it with the ‘ing’ words. Eg. I am ‘still’ planting eggplants. Readers understand if you are planting eggplants, adding ‘still’ will not get any other veggie but eggplants. Remember, readers are smart people.
4) Weed out ‘just’ — It makes sentences poetic but weak. Yup, you don’t want them creeping between your sentences. Your fruits/vegetables will end up looking sick. Often yellowish.
Last but not least, know that you are a human, a work in progress. It takes time for seeds to grow.
P/S: If the above does not work, use Grammarly. Your editors will be grateful.
Happy ‘weeding’. 😊
Check out this cool urban farm in Kuala Lumpur.
