Dec 01 2008
De-clutter Your Writing
As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, I’m attempting to devise a better system for submitting writing.
In doing so, I needed to revise some short stories I wrote last year. Yesterday I finished polishing a piece and sent it to a literary magazine (see Big List of Literary Magazines ).
During the revising process, I recognized how much more concise I’ve become in the past year. I was able to cut more than 1000 words from a story that was originally 4500 words. That’s nearly 1/4 of the entire piece! The amazing thing is the plot didn’t change; in fact, I was able to add a few essential details.
So, what did I cut, you ask? Simply this: any words that didn’t need to be there. That, the, out, off, up, a bit, very… These are all useful words, but they are often abused.
For example:
- “When I edit, I cut out unnecessary words,” becomes, “When I edit, I cut unnecessary words.”
- “Polish up your drafts before submitting them,” becomes, “Polish your drafts before submitting them.”
- “Rework pieces that you have written previously,” becomes,”Rework pieces you have written previously.”
You will notice a vast difference in the quality of your writing when you take time to de-clutter. You’ll also identify particular offenders you overuse. Once you make a habit of writing in a concise manner, you’ll find yourself doing a lot less editing after the fact.
