Get Over Overstating: Trimming Unnecessary Words in Your Manuscript

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Today's Afternoon Rewind takes another look at ways to cut words from your manuscript. 
Often, when we tinker with our manuscripts we repeat ourselves. Sometimes this is good, as it reinforces critical elements of the story, but sometimes it just bloats the story and adds extra words. Here are some tips on finding--and eliminating--those unnecessary words in your own work.

Words That Tell Readers Everything
A common unnecessary word or phrase is one that states something the reader can clearly figure out from the text. Trimming it can tighten the prose and make it read more smoothly.

I darted to the window [and peeked out.] Enzie was running down the walk, waving her arms above her head and yelling.

It's clear that the narrator here looks out the window after she darts to it because she tells you what she sees. Leaving in "and peeked out" won't hurt the story, but the goal is to start picking up the pace in this scene since something bad is about to happen. Having a shorter sentence achieves that.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com