Trimming Excess Words

Sometimes, we have to establish the right mindset to cut words from our manuscripts that we’ve worked so hard to write. The action is not as painful as slicing off a finger, but it pains just the same. Yet the pain is worth the cut when our work becomes tighter and more focused.

Determine your target word count. Children’s books are quite specific in this area. Some books extend the limit (Harry Potter, for example)  but for those of us who don’t have an enormous fan base and are not selling a gazillion books, stay within the specified word count. The numbers vary according to publishers. Check websites before submitting.

Check adverbs, those sneaky ly-words. Are they needed? Would a stronger verb work better?

Adjectives can be used in multiples (The big, giant, enormous ball…) but would one work? Sometimes, in children’s books we intentionally use multiple adjective and they work beautifully, but other times one  works just as well.

Overly descriptive passages slow the action. If you do not want to slow the action, cut some of the details that detract the reader.

Passages that tell the reader what s/he already knows can be cut to make a tighter, more focused story.

Next week, children's author Stephanie Burkhard will visit this blog to discuss writing picture books.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Stone Soup is a magazine of writing and art by kids ages 13 and younger. We publish stories, poems, book reviews, and illustrations, all by young writers and artists. Stone Soup welcomes submissions from young people up to and including age 13. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you must submit your work by postal mail.

Submission guidelines at http://www.stonesoup.com/stone-soup-contributor-guideline/Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

CHICKEN SOUP: MERRY CHRISTMAS
http://www.chickensoup.com
Share your special stories about the holiday season—including Chanukah and Kwanzaa — from inspirational and joyous, to heartwarming and humorous. Remember, all the stories in our Christmas books are “Santa Safe” — we don’t want to spoil the magic for children. This title was previously posted as “Stories about the Christmas Season.” If you submitted a story for that title it will be considered for “Merry Christmas!” Maximum 1,200 words. Pays $200 and ten copies.

Deadline: March 31, 2015.

Writing Tight/Contest

We writers often fall in love with our words. We don’t want to change phrases in narrative or dialog because we like the way they sound. We like the characters and the situations we’ve created. If we change the words, we’ve changed the story. Deciding what text to remove is a difficult decision for me, but as hard as it may be, I cut words in every manuscript I write.

In my flower garden I clip, trim, snip, and prune plants. I tug away weeds and deadhead flowers. What remains is a garden that it looks better with healthier plants. I have a clearer view of the flowers because I’m not looking around and between weeds. As with my garden, when I trim the excess from my literary pieces, I present a clearer view of the characters and plot. After cutting words, the writing is tighter and more concise.

So how do we know which words to whack?

Adjectives and adverbs, those sneaky “ly” words. Use strong nouns and verbs so your writing won’t have to depend on adjectives and adverbs. The phrase, “Ran quickly,” uses an adverb. A stronger verb—trot, darted, or dashed—doesn’t need a modifier to paint a vivid picture.

Description. If we describe in grand, sprawling detail, we sometime lose focus of the plot and the reader loses interest in the story. Some description is necessary; too much dulls the story.

Dialog serves two purposes: to develop the characters or push the plot forward. Read the dialog carefully. You’ll probably find words that serve no purpose. Remove them.

Redundancy. Look for sections in which you’ve already given the information to the reader. If it doesn’t need to be repeated, whack it.

Chop away unnecessary sections as you paint your story with words an editor will love. In doing so, you'll sow the seeds for a contract.

Contest
Short-Story-Time.com. This web site features family-friendly read-aloud stories for children and is sponsoring a writing contest. Entries can be fiction or nonfiction of up to 2500 words for children up to age 12 (suggested themes: holiday, inspirational, embarrassing situations, humor, adventure, love, family). Entrants must be at least 18 years old and can submit as many stories as they'd like. No entry fee. All entries must be in English, original, unpublished, and not submitted or accepted elsewhere at the time of submission. Short-Story-Time reserves exclusive electronic rights to publish the submissions on the web site in print, video and audio formats credited to the author. Entrants must submit their stories electronically by filling out the form at www.short-story-time.com/short-story-writingcontest.html
Deadline September 15, 2010.