Clutter compromises all artistry - and in writing, clutter means prepositions, particles, lazy or repetitive words. Even excellent writers can forget the hazards of deadwood and be seduced by length and weight - to the detriment of clarity. Oddly, perfect clarity can be unnerving - even to journalists, who profess to deal in it.
Perfect clarity is so assertive, so unequivocal, so. . .
We're often more comfortable when we've blurred things a bit with words that drain off energy but add no content. Spurred by a need to salve economic wounds at home, Japanese investors have sharply accelerated their retreat from the U.S. real estate market they galloped into last decade, said a study released Thursday. Economic distress at home is one of the factors. . . . Clutter is its worst when it's cumulative. One sentence with a few too many words becomes several sentences with far too many words - until the whole piece could be reduced by a third without losing a single significant idea or image.