#WWoW! Author's Craft: Replace the Negative #AmEditing

Tighten Your Copy Yourself
Replace Negative with Positive.
Instead of saying what something isn’t, say what it is.

How?
Find the negative statements and eliminate them. Look for these words: don’t, shouldn’t, can’t, won't, couldn't. Then rewrite them without the “not.” That will most likely mean you'll use a more powerful verb.

Watch what I mean...
“You don’t want to make these mistakes in your writing”
is better stated as
“You want to avoid these mistakes in your writing.”

It’s much more straightforward.

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