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...