Writing within constraints — like the challenge to hit 250 words on the nose for Ship 30 for 30 atomic essays — is tricky.

As a fiction writer, I'm wordy. I vomit on the page and hack through the vegetation with my editing machete later. To keep my word count at 250 words, I recruited a few secret weapons.

Here are my favorite tools and tactics for writing clear, concise essays:

Grammarly:

I started using Grammarly as my editing buddy to make sure emails and articles I planned to publish were presentable.

When I installed the app on my laptop, the game changed. Grammarly proofreads everything I type — emails, notes, social posts, essays, and my fiction novel in progress. This tool catches spelling and formatting errors, missed commas and offers suggestions to make your writing clearer. I don't accept every edit, especially when considering the art of fiction, but overall I'd highly recommend this app.

Hemingway Editor: 

This tool and I recently became friends.

After I write and accept the suggestions from Grammarly, I pop my piece into the Hemingway Editor. This tool calls you out for using the passive voice and points out difficult to read sentences. It doesn't offer suggestions to fix the language, but it identifies editing opportunities.

Ruthless editing: 

Murder your darlings.

When you need to cut words, don't be precious. Remove anything that doesn't contribute to your point. Delete the fluff and never look back. It'll be okay.

Online readers have a short attention span.

There's no shame in using technology to finesse your writing.