The Writers' Circle

This is one of the areas of writing that a lot of authors give little importance to, and yet it is probably the most important aspect of our work. 
If you can remember that far back when reading David Copperfield at school/college you will recall Mr Micawber speaking to a young man in this fashion.  
'Under the impressions that your peregrinations in this metropolis have not as yet been extensive, and that you might have some difficulty in penetrating the arcane of the Modern Babylon in the direction of the City Road- in short, that you might lose yourself- I shall be happy to call this evening and instal you in the knowledge of the nearest way.'  
I refer to this only as an example of what I call roundabout speaking/writing that we are all guilty of sometimes, (although not to the same extent.) It points to the importance of brevity in our work and the need when having finished, re-visiting, pruning and polishing.   
In all walks of life we see this.   A lawyer when summing up in court will prepare an 'abstract' or 'brief'; a student will write a summary from notes on a lecture or text- book; an author will produce a synopsis; a debater will present his argument 'in a nutshell'; an editor will condense a full page spread to ten lines; a business man will ask his secretary for a resume of the minutes of his meeting. So precise writing is essential for our story telling, it allows us to keep the necessary and to reject the irrelevant.  The main qualities we should be seeking in our work are brevity, clarity, and a sense of proportion.