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Day 223: Remove throw-away reality words.

Concise writing is vigorous and economical. It keeps the reader focused on the topic, and it promotes agreement and action by your reader. On the other hand, writers produce lifeless, uninspiring writing when they use more words than necessary or provide redundant information.

This strategy requires removing throw-away reality words. These are words that say something is true. Consider these examples.

“The plan was, in reality, acceptable to the team.”
The throw-away words are "in reality." If the plan is acceptable, then it is acceptable in reality, as opposed to in fantasy.“The president was truly amazed by the public protest.”
The throw-away word is "truly." If the president was amazed, then he was truly amazed. However, if the word “truly” is being used to show an extreme level of amazement, then use a better word than “amazed,” such as “dumbfounded.”“The client was, in fact, less than satisfied.”
The throw-away words are "in fact."“For sure, the cakes were delivered on time.”
The throw-away words are "for sure." “This is pretty rare.”
The throw-away word is "pretty."

Here are a few more throw-away reality words (depending on how they are used):

indeed

surely

clearly

in truth

obviously

You might use these words for emphasis when countering contradictory information, so consider their use carefully. In most cases, you can simply throw them away.