"Omit needless words"
Strunk and White – The Elements of Style
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Anyone who's written a story – anyone who's written so much as an email – has experienced that agonizing pause when the words fail to flow and the page sits stubbornly blank.
Anyone who's attempted the NaNoWriMo deathmarch or felt the cold shoulder of writer's block knows what it feels like to strive for every word. Every sentence is a victory, the word count a plaque of achievement as golden as any trophy.
I, too, light up when I see my Scrivener target flash green as I cross the finish line. So when I tell you to "cut those words," your first reaction might be to clutch your precious draft, back away, and hiss loudly.
Hear me out. Far from hurting your baby, cutting words can bring out the best of your novel (or poem or email).
Tightening your story serves two critical purposes:
1. Tight chapters hold reader attention.
Helping your reader maintain a quick pace is critical if you're writing a thriller, a snappy comedy, or a suspenseful scene. Even in the most pensive literary masterwork, a reader's likely to start snoozing if that description of the weather meanders past 200 words.
We'll cover tips to tighten your dialogue, focus your descriptions, and identify words that aren't doing your prose any favors!
2. Tight prose draws attention to what matters.
As precious as they feel, once your words have been written, you are not beholden to them. In fact, you'll likely find that most of what you've written is extraneous.
You worked hard on your book, and the editing phase is where it starts to shine!
We'll cover tips on how to approach editing with a mindset condusive to cutting words, and how to identify areas of improvement you haven't noticed yet!
These are a few of the tips I use to keep stories crisp. If a tip resonates with you, please remember to comment and vote! :) I greatly appreciate the support! <3
Excited to take your story to the next level? :) Me too!
Let's get started!
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Final note: this book will update periodically as I finish chapters. So add it to your reading lists so you can be notified of new tips!
YOU ARE READING
Writing advice - Tips to tighten your prose!
Non-FictionLet's take your story to the next level! This book will help you identify parts of your writing that slow your story down, and help you build the confidence to hit 'DELETE.' ;) Tighter prose = better pacing = happier readers!
