"I am sorry I have had to write you such a long letter, but I did not have time to write you a short one" -- Blaise Pascal
My writing was also ruined by highschool English rewarding large word counts and overblown language. Twitter has completely broken me of the habit, and my writing is far clearer and punchier as a result.
Why is "excess" needed there? "Eschew verbiage" seems a better fit to its own guideline. "Verbiage" means "speech or writing that uses too many words or excessively technical expressions" so the original is something like "avoid an excess of too many words."
The most eye-opening thing I've did in that regard is participate in a "microfiction" contest related to an online game, that had you tell complete stories in exactly 55 words, with a (vague) predetermined theme.
It's truly amazing what you can do with so few words.
My writing was also ruined by highschool English rewarding large word counts and overblown language. Twitter has completely broken me of the habit, and my writing is far clearer and punchier as a result.
Eschew excess verbiage and all that.