“Prune for vigor.”
Those are the words from my first editor at The Bulletin of Bend, Ore., that still ring true for me today. I especially appreciate them because I’m a gardener and understand the good things that come from pruning.
Last fall I pruned way back a camellia bush in my yard. I hacked that thing to the point one of my kids asked what I had against it.
“Nothing,” I said. “I love this bush. And just wait. It will love us back.”
Those were prophetic words, even if at the moment I doubted them to be true. When I stepped back and looked at all the limbs on the ground, the thought entered my mind: “What have I done?”
It’s never had as many blooms on it as it did this past spring. It was amazing! Absolutely aflame in pink flowers!
My camellia bush sits in a side yard between my house and my neighbor’s house and she gushed over it.
As writers, we should always prune for vigor. Take out needless words. Shorten sentences and paragraphs.
Use simple words to replace longer words. Think “help” instead of “assist” or “use” instead of “utilize,” for example.
Be a good gardener. Be a good writer.
Prune for vigor.