By: Jaycie Cash

I got the best writing lesson of my life this Halloween.

It wasn’t anything new. Several teachers urged this approach numerous times while I was in high school and college, but I’d never seen it applied so aptly before.

A group of seven kids came to my door shouting "Trick or Treat." In addition to a cowboy, a pirate, a princess and others, one little brown-haired girl, who I guessed to be about six years of age, wore a pink leotard and tutu and had painted-on whiskers and a black triangular nose. If she was supposed to be a specific character, I wasn’t familiar with it, but there was no question she was awfully cute.

It was also immediately apparent that she had some type of challenge with communication. Nonetheless, I found her quite eloquent.

She pointed behind me to Liddy, my shy black and white border-collie mix (Scout, my Jack Russell terrorist, had been relegated to the backyard to keep him from trying to prove what a tough guy he was to all the trick-or-treaters).

"Doggy!" The little girl exclaimed.

"That’s right."

"Pink!"

"She does have a very pink tongue, doesn’t she. Oh, and you’re right, she has pink on her collar too."

By then the other kids were on their way to the next house. But my new little friend remained on my porch, peeking with longing through my storm door at Liddy. The lady I assumed to be her mother waited patiently on my sidewalk, closely watching. We exchanged waves.

"Pet?"

"You know, that might not be a good idea. That doggy isn’t used to being around children so she might not know how to behave properly."

"Bite?"

"No, I don’t think she’d bite, but she might step on your toes. That happens to me a lot and it hurts. Also, she likes to brush up against people, and that might make you lose your balance and fall down."

"Bye."

The whiskered ballerina scampered away, leaving me to reflect on how fully she’d managed to communicate her thoughts and desires with her single word exchanges. She provided the best example of the power of concise communication that I’ve ever seen.

As I closed my front door, it dawned on me that I’d be wise to emulate her speech pattern in my writing. I don’t know that one word will often be an option, but I’m going to try even harder to keep my writing short and to the point.

HOW ABOUT YOU? WHAT EXAMPLES OF CONCISE COMMUNICATION HAVE YOU WITNESSED? I’LL PROVIDE A FREE COPY OF MRS. GOODFELLER TO SOMEONE WHO LEAVES A COMMENT.

 Jaycie Cash blogs on a regular basis for Writerspace.com. Her debut novel, MRS. GOODFELLER, is available through most major eBook outlets, including Amazon and >Barnes and Noble. She’d love for you to like her Facebook Author page.