: Re: What does being "heavy handed" mean? And how does one avoid it? I've come across the term "heavy handed" before, and it seems to be one of the more egregious mistakes that one can make while

@Sent2472441

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Being heavy handed is when any subtlety or naunce in your writing is lost by over-explaining a point. It can better be defined as, in general, assuming that your audience is stupid, and doesn't go down well with most people because they aren't. Realistically, your audience is most likely as smart as you are and should be treated as such - readers appreciate a book that doesn't waste their time reiterating points they have already heard. Treat your audiences with respect and act as if they are intelligent, and you'll probably avoid being heavy handed.

My answer is an example of being heavy handed - I could have simply left the definition and the first sentence, which would have properly defined what being heavy handed is. Ironically, by telling you that my answer is heavy handed, I am being even MORE heavy handed because anyone that would have figured out I was deliberately being heavy handed is now reading text that they already knew.

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