Minimalist writing: not just an obsession for editors anymore

As my company lurches headlong into topic-based authoring, minimalist writing takes on monumental importance.

As an editor, minimalization is my mantra. From cutting out huge swathes of information that are useless to a user to presenting useful information in a way that the user expects it and can use it to using present tense and active voice and all the other grammatical standards that make a sentence succinct and clear—this is my daily work.

Now minimalist principles are becoming important to more people in my company than just a handful of editors and conscientious writers and managers. We are embarking on a move to topic-based authoring via DITA, XML, CMS, etc. All of a sudden we are faced with the dilemma of what to do with thousands of pages of existing documentation—what becomes a topic in the new system, what stays as is in the old system, and what gets thrown out?

The hard work will be examining the content with an eye toward getting rid of content that the users don’t really need (such as excessive overview and conceptual information and useless, obvious procedures) and identifying useful information to keep and transform. This work is the meat of minimalization (and I am not even touching on the need to develop the useful information that has never existed!).

The easier work (and arguably more tedious work, which maybe only editors love) is making that existing useful information, and that as-yet-to-be-created useful information, as clear and concise as possible. Editors can make general pronouncements about this area of minimalist writing because it doesn’t involve getting your hands dirty in specific content. Here, we can offer tips that all writers can follow to foster clarity, succinctness, and consistency within and among the topics that they will be transforming and creating.

Following are a few minimalist writing tips that my editing team has shared with writers over the past year:

• Sentences written in the present tense are more direct and clear than sentences written in the future tense. Grammatically speaking, present tense is used to express action in the present, habitual or recurring action, and general truth, such as scientific or technological facts. Present tense is also used to provide instructions. Use future tense only if you need to emphasize that something will occur later instead of now. Remember, when users read documentation, they are in their “present.” When you use future tense unnecessarily, the user has to work harder to understand the meaning.
  
  Before:
  
  If you set the variable to yes, you will not be able to use the utility.
  
  After:
  If you set the variable to yes, you cannot use the utility.

• Do not use expletives such as there and it as the subject of a sentence. Also, do not use demonstrative pronouns, such as this and that, as subjects. Instead, replace these terms with more descriptive and meaningful subjects.
  
  Before:
  
  There are several options available to you.
  
  This helps you to reuse the profile in subsequent sessions.
  
  After:
  
  Several options are available to you.
  
  This feature helps you to reuse the profile in subsequent sessions.

• When you transform a verb into a noun, the resulting noun is called a nominalization. Sentences that include a nominalization and a verb can often be simplified by changing the nominalization back into a verb and omitting the existing verb. Excessive and unnecessary use of nominalizations contributes to wordiness and dilutes the intended message.
  
  Before:
  
  Table 5 provides a description of the products.
  
  After:
  
  Table 5 describes the products.

• The dangling modifier (often called a misplaced modifier or, in some forms, a dangling participle) occurs when an introductory clause has an implied subject and that subject is not the same as the subject of the main clause. Omitting key words in the introductory (elliptical) clause can reduce clarity if the subject of the introductory clause is unclear.
  
  Do not begin a sentence with an elliptical clause unless the omitted subject of the clause is the same as the subject of the main clause. Often, passive voice in the main clause can help you identify the problem of a dangling modifier.
  
  Before:
  
  When logged on as root, Configure must be selected.
  
  After (depending on meaning):
  
  When logged on as root, select Configure.
  
  When you are logged on as root, Configure must be selected.

• Adjectives and adverbs make novels and essays more interesting; however, modifiers are often unnecessary in technical documentation and, when used, can obfuscate important information. Before you use a word that modifies another word, determine whether the modifier is necessary. You can often omit adverbs such as simply, currently, and actually.
  
  Before:
  
  After defining and installing the component, you can subsequently perform any of the following additional management tasks:
  
  After:
  
  After defining and installing the component, you can perform the following management tasks:

As some of these example show, minimizing doesn’t always mean using fewer words—it means using just the right words, at the right time. And that is a never-ending challenge for all technical communicators.