It's elementary

Everyone's heard of Sherlock Holmes, but only serious fans are aware of a nasty addiction he had – cocaine. When bored, the fictional detective sometimes plunged a syringe in his forearm and shot himself up with a "7 percent solution" of cocaine.

So, what does Holmes' illicit habit have to do with good writing? A few years ago columnist Chip Scanlan, who writes for the journalism Web site Poynter.org., recommended a writing-revision method inspired by Holmesian lore. It's known as the "10 Percent Solution." Scanlan noted that Stephen King actually coined the term for this effective method of polishing a letter, memo, article or any other piece of writing. Whatever the origin, it's a great idea, and here's how it works:

Once you have a piece in fairly good shape -- meaning it's structured the way you want, includes all the detail you want and you've revised it at least once – then count how many words its contains (most word processing software has a handy word-count function built in). Let's say your word count is 1,500. Then, applying the 10 Percent Solution, you would take 10 percent of your count, 150 words, and reduce your copy by that much, paring the 1,500-word piece to 1,350 words. Here's an important concept to remember, though. Don't trim by trashing important information or other structural elements. Do so by cutting out the clutter: cliches, intensifiers like "very" and "really," awkward sentences and the like.

Properly administered, the 10 Percent Solution will help you produce more readable, concise copy. Like Holmes' fondness for cocaine, this method of revision works so well it could even become addictive.