Edit flow and content of writing

- Ever heard of the ABCs of writing?…Most writing books identify that as…the acronym for accuracy, brevity, and clarity.…Another variation is active voice,…brevity, and common sense.…I think the common sense part is…that all writing needs to be edited and revised…with a purpose, and that purpose…it to be sure it's accurate, concise, and clear;…that it qualifies as plain English.…I can almost hear you, "No!…"Not the dreaded editing and revising!…"After all, if I followed all the principles…"of plain English as I wrote, shouldn't my first draft…"be my final draft?"…Maybe you laboriously checked each word as you used it.…

You counted the number of words in each sentence you wrote…and the number of syllables in each word.…You counted the number of lines in each paragraph.…You made certain you didn't use the indefinite…there and it and avoided every word…that ended in T I O N.…Really?…Let's be honest and realistic.…You didn't do that, did you?…No one does!…And you shouldn't.…Statistically, we should spend 40% of our time…