Unlike the days in grade school where we threw every extra
word we could to make our homework fit the required page count, professional
writers need to tighten their writing. Fortunately cutting all the unnecessary
words is probably easier than losing those extra pounds when we diet.
When you are telling your story make sure that everything you
tell is actually relevant to that story. For instance if you are describing a setting
there is no need to describe every crack in the wall or every plant in a garden
UNLESS that object plays an important part in the plot — if the family photo on
the wall shows a family member that no one wants to talk about because of some
past secret and that secret is pursued as part of the story, then MAYBE the
picture should be included in your description.
Every character in your story has a past but not everything
that has happened up to the point of your story needs to be related to your
readers. BUT maybe the back story is significant and you feel it is vital to
know… Don’t info-dump all of the backstory at once, scatter it like memories or
flashbacks throughout your story. The point is to keep your story moving along
in the NOW (or whatever time period your story takes place). If you concentrate
for too long in the past your readers are likely to become bored.
How many words does it really take to get your point across?
Saying “she thought to herself” is unnecessary… who else is she thinking to?
Stick with “she thought”. Direction can be implied, just use the words sat,
stood, and turned — leave out down, up and around. Use strong descriptive words
instead of weakening your writing with passive adverbs such as saying “She
whispered,” instead of “She whispered quietly”.
Speak in an active voice like “Jonathan carried the suitcase”
and avoid “The suitcase was carried by Jonathan”, or “Mom cooked dinner,”
instead of “Dinner was cooked by Mom” (subject, action, object). Also cut out
the “-ing” words to make the sentence stronger, “She was studying the history
lesson” is better as “She studied the lesson”.
Have you ever been annoyed listening to someone talk who
seems to begin every sentence with “you know” or “like”? Your readers don’t
appreciate it either. Go through your written work and circle every repeated
crutch-phrase and REMOVE IT. The only exception is in dialogue IF it helps to set
the quirkiness of a character and you keep it consistent. Talking about
dialogue, when there is a conversation between two or more characters it
probably is not necessary to use a character’s name in every sentence either as
“Tom said” or by addressing another character by name; if the conversation is
flowing easily then names should be needed only every so often.
Writing Exercise:
Free write for 15-to-20 minutes, note the word count. When you are done
take a pen or pencil in a different color and strengthen your writing by
cutting out passive phrases and replacing them with active sentences. Circle
repetitive words and read the piece aloud WITHOUT any of those words, if you
don’t need them cross them out. How many words were you able to remove?
Writing Prompt:
Make a list of cringe-worthy words or phrases YOU can’t stand hearing.
(Do YOU use any of these in your writing?)
Challenge Assignment: Make a list of 15 nouns, 15 adjectives, and
15 verbs in separate columns. Using one word from column A, one from column B
and one from column C make as many sentences as possible. You are NOT allowed
to use any word twice and each sentence needs to make sense.
