Short and Sweet Too

Can you say more with less? If you use short, simple words, will what you write turn out so real and so clear that your reader will taste it, see it, hear it, touch it, smell it...live it?

Or will it sound like The Cat in the Hat or Dick and Jane?

The truth is, short words bring power to what you say. And, that's good news for those of us who want another person to hear us, to understand us.

Short words are easy to read, easy to grasp, easy to recall:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.... (A Tale of Two Cities)

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. (Rebecca)

If music be the food of love, play on. (The Twelfth Night)

Marley was dead, to begin with. (A Christmas Carol)

Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By." (Casablanca)

If you build it, they will come. (Field of Dreams)

These are the times that try men's souls. (Paine)

To be or not to be... (Shakespeare)

What's done is done.

Seize the day!

I love you.

And so it goes.

In this book, the second in the Short and Sweet series, you'll find a collection of fiction and non-fiction on a variety of topics. They have two things in common: Each is about something that matters deeply to the writer, and with few exceptions -- proper names, numbers -- each is written using only one-syllable words or words of fewer than six letters.

If you've always thought you had to use long words to keep your reader engaged, discover why it's often a great idea to keep it Short and Sweet.

Contributors: Bob Adauto III, Sharon Atwood, Joylene M. Bailey, Tandy Balson, Trisha Barry, Jeff Brady, Tez Brooks, David Buster, Kelly Carlson, Marigene Chamberlain, Alexander Chavers, Jeanetta R. Chrystie, Lauren Craft, Jorja Davis, Barbara D'Antoni Diggs, Jeanette Duby, Wendy Dunham, JoAnn Durgin, Nicey T. Eller, Sherree G. Funk, Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Desiree Glass, Pamela Groupe Groves, Lydia E. Harris, Leah M. Hinton, Paul Aaron Hinton, Becky Hitchcock, Shauna Hoey, Katherine Kavanagh Hoffman, Marlene Houk, Charles J. Huff, Penny L. Hunt, Connie Inglis, Jeanie Jacobson, Linda Jett, Bobbi Junior, Tom Kennedy, Liz Kimmel, Rita Klundt, Adrienne Large, Julie Lavender, Marcia Lee Laycock, Mary Elaine Lester, Terry Magness, Jill Allen Maisch, Chantel Mathson, Joy E Miller, Alice H. Murray, Daniel Mynyk, Suzanne Dodge Nichols, Shelley Pierce, Judy Webster Powers, Sandy Kirby Quandt, Anne Foley Rauth, Mary Lou Redding, Linda Jo Reed, Reba Rhyne, Susanna Robar, Janet Ramsdell Rockey, Lori Stanley Roeleveld, Dottie Lovelady Rogers, Pamela Rosales, Carol Schafer, Deborah Brawer Silva, Neil Silverberg, Lynn J. Simpson, Fay Henry Smith, Carole Sparks, E. V. Sparrow, Traci Stead, Susan Reith Swan, Tammy Van Gils, Martha VanZant, Beverly Varnado, Tim Wade, Margery Kisby Warder, Kenneth Avon White, Lora Homan Zill.