Knowing When to Shut Up

[Peg Herring]

I'm a rattler -- not the snake, mind you, but the kind of person who, when nervous, or happy, or allowed to for any reason, rattles on, telling more than I should and talking more than is necessary. I'm told by kindly folks that I have a lively way of telling stories and my listeners are usually enterained, but sometimes I have doubts. There's always someone in the group who just looks at me, and I imagine them thinking, "Does that woman have any self-control?"

Most writers I've met are also talkers. Some are shy at first, but when they get going, they love their anecdotes as much as I do. Maybe it's the desire to entertain that makes us writers, but an important key to good writing is akin to good speaking: knowing when to shut up.

We've all seen writers who get too gory, too graphic, too flowery. Editing should, if you're tuned in, make those purple passages jump out at you. Knowing when to shut up is just as important as knowing what to say, and thoughtful consideration can reveal that you've said too much. Happily, writing is not like conversation, where what's been said can't be unsaid.