写作的核心减法不是删段落，是删那些你根本没意识到在拖后腿的"小词"——it、so、just、that、well——它们是句子里的隐形脂肪。
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1. ATou 写给团队的消息里，最常出现的"小词"是什么？如果强制删掉，沟通效率会提升还是会显得太冷？ 2. "Less is more"在中文写作里等价于什么？中文的"小词"（其实、然后、就是、基本上、可能）跟英文的有什么不同的杀伤力？
小词（尤其是诸如 “In so forth” 或 “So much as” 这类固定用法里的小词）很擅长把原本可能很棒、很有力、很简洁的一句话，杀成一团稀糊。
比如：
[Original sentence]:
“One of the most common changes that occurs when people go off to college is they become different versions of themselves.”
[Rewrite]:
“When people go off to college, they become different versions of themselves.”
One of the most interesting “writing rules” I came across in college was Hemingway’s feelings on adverbs.
小词（尤其是诸如 “In so forth” 或 “So much as” 这类固定用法里的小词）很擅长把原本可能很棒、很有力、很简洁的一句话，杀成一团稀糊。
He hated adverbs. He called them “lazy writing.”
比如：
Adverbs are any descriptor word ending in -ly:
[Original sentence]:
“One of the most common changes that occurs when people go off to college is they become different versions of themselves.”
[Rewrite]:
“When people go off to college, they become different versions of themselves.”
Learning about this rule changed my writing forever.
And while I still make the mistake of using one too many adverbs here and there, I try very hard not to fill my sentences with them.
But since learning about this rule, and realizing the ways it improved my writing, I started looking for more rules.
And a big one I’ve come across has been the importance of removing “little words:”
One of the most interesting “writing rules” I came across in college was Hemingway’s feelings on adverbs.
He hated adverbs. He called them “lazy writing.”
Adverbs are any descriptor word ending in -ly:
Lazily
Eerily
Mostly
Honestly
Etc.
Learning about this rule changed my writing forever.
And while I still make the mistake of using one too many adverbs here and there, I try very hard not to fill my sentences with them.
But since learning about this rule, and realizing the ways it improved my writing, I started looking for more rules.
And a big one I’ve come across has been the importance of removing “little words:”
It
So
Just
That
Well
Like
This
Much
Often
Really
Better
Usually
Probably
Sometimes
And, and, and
Little words (especially in turns of phrase like “In so forth” or “So much as”) have a knack for killing what could be a great, powerful, concise sentence — and turning it into a soupy mess.
For example:
[Original sentence]:
“One of the most common changes that occurs when people go off to college is they become different versions of themselves.”
[Rewrite]:
“When people go off to college, they become different versions of themselves.”
Both sentences are saying “the same thing,” and yet the second sentence reads 10x easier than the first.
Why?
We removed all the little words:
One
Of
The
That
Is
So, the next time you’re staring at a sentence and can’t quite put your finger on why it’s not reading the way you want it to read, ask yourself:
“What little words can I delete here?”
With writing, less is always more.
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