In between exercise and not snacking, I'm working hard on Champion of Valor, finishing it up and editing it. So I not only want to cut the fat from my diet, but also from my manuscript.
Repetitive words, phrases, sayings.... gone.
Abuse of adverbs... deleted.
Passive voice... made active.
Long descriptions... tightened and pruned.
Adjectives... pared down.
I'm cutting the fat from my MS. When you edit your stories, what do you keep an eye out for?
15 comments:
Cutting fat from my ms is a lot easier than from me. My ms doesn't have a chocolate addiction. ;)
First, weight loss specifically for mom writers? Can I sign up too?
Second, I look for the same things you do, starting with passive voice. My first drafts are lazy with it.
excess adjectives and adverbs
unnatural dialogue
showing instead of telling where ever possible
and finally, connecting the reader through as many senses as possible
Good luck with your weight loss. Last year I joined weight watchers. I love it because I don't have to count calories. They have a point system. Easy to use. I lost 31 pounds from March through Dec. I hope to lose another 30 pounds this year. One trick is to order grilled chicken when you eat a fast food chains.
Your list of edit things is great too!
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
DUDE! I so want a WL group for writerly moms!!!
I hear you on the weight loss. I struggle with this every day of my life. Being a writer just makes it worse. All that butt-in-chair adds to the spread. I've taken to standing at the breakfast bar with my laptop while I write/revise. But most of the time I'm at work, sitting!
That's a good list of things to edit for! As frustrating as it can be sometimes, I actually like when I've written over the word limit for a short story submission, for example, because it forces me to get rid of ANYTHING extra and make the story really, really, really tight. Of course it's another story entirely for novels, because there isn't a strict word limit, so I find it harder to make the cuts.
Good luck with both!
I look for adverbs, unnecessary words, cliches, and things like that when I edit. Sometimes it's just a little tightening here and there that can really make a story pop.
Good luck on your weight loss goals! And with your MS!!
I'm guilty of a little bit of all the things you listed and I also have to get rid of dumb dialogue tags.
Good luck with the weight loss! I have a terrible tendency to overuse phrases. Ugh!
I look for repetition, adjectives, and a complete lack of description. Yes, while most people write 100,000 words piece that needs slimming I write a 60,000 words piece that needs more than the basic shell.
I usually have to add fat to my MS! LOL!! I always have to go in and add internal thoughts of the characters and show instead of tell.
Good luck on your weight loss goals!!! How cool to have found other writers to do that with!
Good New Year's resolutions!
My manuscripts need more fat. I start with rough outlines and then fill them in.
As for me: I don't need any extra fat! hehe
Thanks for stopping by my blog. :) Are you going to write a ghost story, too?
I think I will, Aubrie. There's more than enough time to write one after Champion of Valor is finished. I've always wanted to write a gothic story - here's my chance to write a gothic short story!
Post a Comment