I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. I’ve spent the last ten years trying to cut down on my verbiage, to pare down my words so that each one is necessary and none are gratuitous in my storytelling. While I think that is a worthy goal, the trick here, like everywhere else, is to find balance. Pared down is not stripped down and bare. It does not mean that the writer has not painted a picture. It means that the writer has used a different set of brushes and brush strokes to create their landscape.
Write It Sideways has a great post (and links to five other articles) on cutting gratuitous words. And write to done has a great guest post by Tom Walker on 10 Quick Tips For Concise, Compelling Writing.
What words do you overuse/think you could cut from your writing? How much is too much? Do you use/plan to use any of Tom’s tips? Any other tips that you use?
I have some 'favourite' words and expressions that crop up again and again in my writing, and those usually get axed in the second draft. I try not to worry too much about overwriting in the first draft, but Tom's tip about knowing your point is invaluable, I think. When I go through my MS the second time, I always ask myself what I'm trying to do in this scene. Does it add anything to the story or the character? If not... bye bye!
ReplyDeleteHee! I've got my favorite words, too. They're pretty obvious on any reread. :) And I agree with you about that tip to make sure you know your point. I'm keeping that one front and center as I work on the WIP.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily have favorite words that pop up unceremoniously in my work before getting the ax, but like everyone my first drafts are wordy.
ReplyDeleteThe best way I've found to practice revising my work, replacing weak sentence structures with stronger, more concise wording, swapping out low impact words with one or two high impact, high energy ones, is to enter flash fiction contests with strict word count limits.
:)
Great things to remember, Nicole. And I agree. I love flash fiction contests. :)
ReplyDeleteWell. So. Just. Even. And. Then. All. And then all those adverbs. Tons and tons of these do-nothing words. They're like stuttering when I write. It's ok though, they're easy to eliminate. Harder to do is to change out the dull, easy words that I throw in almost like place-holders until I find the better word later. Sometimes in my reading other work, I'll see it and say, "Yes, that's the word I was looking for!" I also like to read dictionaries and the thesaurus.
ReplyDeleteI have tons in the first draft. It's the 2nd and 3rd that I have trouble finding them all.
ReplyDeleteOf course, of course. I'll be bookmarking those links when I'm ready to take the fillet knife to my MS.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have favorite words or phrases (you've read enough of my crap--you tell me) but I do have a run on quality that I've noticed upon re-reading. Usually I end up cutting at least one sentence from the phrase in question. This run-on style is stream of consciousness and probably sounds a lot like the way I talk.
ReplyDeleteWhich is not a good thing.
I'll have to check out the links later (not while I'm at work). Thanks for the information.
I am a terrible word hog!!! It's so painful to cut!
ReplyDeleteI often eschew personal pronouns and articles. It makes my prose more spare. I'd elaborate, but that would mean using extra words in this comment. Can't have that. :)
ReplyDeleteI have phrases that I don't even realize I use over and over again until I create a wordle in the early stages of a project. Then I just grimace and realize how 'fun' it will be in revisions... ;o)
ReplyDeleteVisit My Kingdom Anytime
love the word verif on this one: NOOFFED!
I have a difficult time knowing what I am using too much. I think "in fact" and "to be honest" may be there! I have been advised to read last several pieces and see what I am using over and over. I need to do it!
ReplyDeleteMissing your creative work!
I try to kill every "had", "that", and adverb I find in my prose. Passive writing. IT IS MY BANE!
ReplyDeleteI hate that I have favorite words. And when I'm editing it's like they jump off the page at me! But I guess everyone has this problem, right? Right? Please say they do!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLots of onlys and a few justs -- much better about the begins though.
ReplyDeleteI love words! I don't know if there are any I use more than others... I do have some go-to words that develop depending on the piece I'm working on but nothing's coming to mind right now. I'm sure when I reread what I wrote last night I'll be bombarded with them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I write my first draft, I'm usually pretty sparse. My biggest problem is adding details, to be honest. If I cut things out, it's scenes that no longer fit, stuff like that. usually I rely on reader feedback to help me add the necessary details.
ReplyDeleteI always have a bloated word count. I'm forever cutting. For me it has to do more with plot elements and repeating entire themes that just words. I have to constantly remind myself that I don't need to say the same thing three times using different words and senses. Sometimes it works, and then my betas yell. :)
ReplyDeleteWriting a short story with a word count is always a painful experience for me, but a much needed exercise in making each word count. I need to write one every once in a while to keep that lesson fresh in my mind.
ReplyDeleteKaren, yep. I know what you mean about placeholders. I do that myself. I obsess over word choice. :)
ReplyDeleteAnne, I have a feeling you do a great job weeding out your second and third drafts. :)
Summer, I'm glad the links were helpful. :)
Eva, I love the way you talk and write. :)
Betty, it is painful sometimes. I like to think I've learned to embrace the pain. :)
Simon, you sound like my husband with his non-essential words. :)
Courtney, I'm LMAO! NOOFED! Too funny.
Amy, thank you for missing my stuff. I have something for the First Pages blogfest coming up Friday, and other things for the Murder Scene and Bar Scene blogfests coming up on April 10th and 11th.
B. Miller, good luck hunting down the passive. :)
Kimberly, yes, yes, we do. :)
Bane, glad you're doing better with the begins. :)
E. Elle, I love my go-to words. :) I hate to cut them. :(
Tamara, that's cool that it works the opposite for you. :)
Elena, I know what you mean about bloated. I almost physically feel that way sometimes when I look at my writing.
Susan, short stories and flash fic are great ways to cut back on words.
Yup, I'm like a lot of others here that I start out TOO wordy, and then I cut and cut and cut... and you know what? It feels good to cross out those unneeded words. What remains is much cleaner afterward. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI find the mood of the piece sometimes causes me to repeat words. So I keep a checklist of anything I know I'm overusing and target it in editing.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah. My first drafts are wordy. Second draft I go in all ninja-style, slicing and dicing, editing and pruning the bonsai to its most essential shape.
ReplyDeleteThe best advise I have had to date is "get rid of 'that'" since it helps me trim my work down considerably.
ReplyDeletesarahjayne, my worst offenses are passive verbs and redundant descriptions. I picked up on yours right away because it's something I do all the time:
ReplyDelete"so that each one is necessary and none are gratuitous"
;)
Great post.
I am a wordy bird. I know this, yet I still write like sentences have minimum word counts. It's an addiction or something. Like caffeine or American Idol.
ReplyDeleteShelley, thanks. It does feel good to cut. Makes everything sharper and cleaner. :)
ReplyDeletePortia, you're right. Tone does go a long way. And a checklist sounds like a great idea. :)
Christi, great advice. :)
Jenn, thanks. :)
Amber, I love caffeine. And words apparently. :)
Even Coco Chanel used to say that "less is more", and she knew about style, didn't she? ;-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I have embraced this rule, and try to apply it to my writing, to cure both the tendency to use too many words that's typical of my mother tongue, and to achieve a tighter focus.
We'll see if it works... :-)