"Revising Prose" can get a little pricey depending on where you buy it, so I figured I'd offer a short summary.
The book is built around Lanham's "Paramedic Method" for fixing bloated writing. The Paramedic Method seems to have changed over the years, but primarily consists of six steps:
(1.) Highlight the prepositions.
(2.) Highlight the “is” verb forms.
(3.) Find the action. (Who is kicking whom?)
(4.) Change the action into a simple active verb.
(5.) Start fast—no slow windups.
(6.) Read the passage out loud with emphasis and feeling.
Here's a graphic I made to showcase Lanham's method in action (first section): https://www.helpscout.net/blog/d...
A big theme in the book is the true cost of confusion and wasted attention. Bad writing not only confuses the reader, it fools the writer. And that's where things get dangerous.
