{"id":129,"date":"2014-03-18T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/blog\/2014\/03\/18\/tactical-tuesday-advice-for-self-editing_18\/"},"modified":"2015-11-25T12:22:16","modified_gmt":"2015-11-25T19:22:16","slug":"tactical-tuesday-advice-for-self-editing_18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/tactical-tuesday-advice-for-self-editing_18\/","title":{"rendered":"Tactical Tuesday: Advice for Self-Editing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nEditing
\nfor word count can be the most freeing experiences an author can endure. Yes,
\nwe hate to think that even one word in our carefully crafted prose can be
\ntossed away without a thought. We wonder how in the word tightening a sentence
\ncan make it zing, but it does.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI use word
\ncounts to take a deeper look at everything I\u2019ve written. I want maximum effect
\nwith minimal words. (This is why the practice of writing flash fiction will
\nenhance a novelist\u2019s prose).<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhat do I eliminate?<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWeasel
\nWords such as very<\/i>, that,<\/i> just<\/i>, etc. Go on line. Look up weasel words, and you\u2019ll find lists.
\nBe careful though. Take that<\/i> for an
\nexample. Sometimes that<\/i> is necessary
\nto the understanding of a sentence. Don\u2019t go through a manuscript with find and
\ndestroy<\/i> all<\/i>. Rather, look at each use and determine whether the word is
\nnecessary to the sentence.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nPassive
\nwording can stretch out our prose. Instead of writing he walked to the store <\/i>we end of with some unnecessary words: he was walking to the store<\/i>. Changing
\nthe structure not only eliminates an unnecessary word, it strengthens the
\nsentence. Passive structures are made when we use the forms of to be<\/i> (was, were, is, are, to be, etc.).
\nAs with weasel words, not all passive structures are evil entities that need to
\nbe vanquished. For example, if I have my character talking about what had
\noccurred, he would say, \u201cI was walking to the store when the guy jumped out of
\nthe alley and mugged me.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nRedundancies
\ntend to show an author when they are not giving enough credit to the reader.
\nUsually, one mention, unless it comes chapters apart, will garner the
\nunderstanding of a reader. Eliminating these incessant reminders to the reader
\nthat something has happened can take large chunks of word count out of a
\nmanuscript.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nExcessive
\ndescription is an interest killer. Sorry Jane Austen fans, but in today\u2019s quick
\npaced lifestyle, flowery descriptions will bring out a yawn and a reach to turn
\nout the lights. Instead, authors should closely examine the scene and describe
\nonly those details that are necessary to the understanding and\/or plot of the
\nstory. For instance, if a gun on the table is important to the scene\u2014say a
\ncharacter is going to be shot with it\u2014not showing the reader the gun on the
\ntable will make the scene less effective and the prop will feel dropped in. On
\nthe other hand, if the gun isn\u2019t necessary to the scene at hand, introducing it
\nwill give the reader a false expectation.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nCharacter
\ndescriptions fall within this category as well. The reader doesn\u2019t need to know
\nevery detail about a character, only those that are important to the scene. In
\na romance, yes, we want to see what attracts the hero to the heroine so
\nproviding that description is a necessity. However, I still take exception to
\nthe contest judge who gave my story a very low score simply because she did not
\nknow what my character was wearing from scene to scene. True story. In case you\u2019re
\nwondering, I don\u2019t want to know that much detail unless the scene is futuristic
\nad the outfit is part of the prop.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThis
\nleads me to the last suggestion for tightening prose. While strong verbs
\neliminate unnecessary wording and strengthen the prose, flowery adjective use
\npounces on a sentence and makes the reader weary. The weathered, old, gray,
\ndecrepit Victorian house stood in the dark shadows of night bringing an eerie,
\nfrightening appeal to the young ghost hunters. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nBetter:
\nThe weathered Victorian stood in the darkness, bringing an eerie appeal to the
\nyoung ghost hunters.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhen
\nediting for word count, carefully examine your manuscript for weasel words,
\npassive structure, redundancies, excessive description of scene and character,
\nand flowery adjectives. Elimination this excess can result not only in smaller
\nword count but in tighter, more expressive writing.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nHappy editing.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editing for word count can be the most freeing experiences an author can endure. Yes, we hate to think that even one word in our carefully crafted prose can be tossed away without a thought. We wonder how in the word tightening a sentence can make it zing, but it does. I use word counts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[504],"tags":[67,92,94,95,96],"class_list":["post-129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editing-writing-advice","tag-editing","tag-editing-helps","tag-tightening-sentence-structure","tag-weasel-words","tag-word-count"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}