1. Start with a bullet list of the points you absolutely have to make (the meat). 2. Make a second level to the bullet list where you fill in the gaps between

1. Start with a bullet list of the points you absolutely have to make (the meat). 2. Make a second level to the bullet list where you fill in the gaps between the meat where you can add color and make the topic digestible (the vegetables/fiber). 3. Make a third level of the bullet list with all of the nice story points you'd like to add but are not necessary (the dessert). 4. Delete all those nice to have story points. If they're really needed, then they would have been added in step 1 or 2. Don't add any more words for dessert -- the real treat is how concise you can be while still being interesting. If it's a long form article, skip step 4.