Omit Needless Words

Yep. I'm still in the revision trenches and working hard to tighten up my manuscript.

Every time I come across a phrase like: "She did not listen to me." I cringe, because Strunk and White's words pop into my head:

Omit needless words.

Sounds so simple.

And yet, I forget it so often. I'm a rambler, and I like to use a lot of words, but when writing a manuscript ... a lot of unnecessary words does not make it better!

She did not listen to me. = She ignored me.

That cuts the word count in half! That's just one sentence. Imagine how much tighter you could make the entire manuscript!

Here are some more examples:
Do not forget = Remember
A guy thumped his fingers against the microphone. = A guy thumped the microphone.
She put her hands on my shoulders. = She grabbed my shoulders.
He pointed his finger at me. = He pointed at me.
He snapped his fingers. = He snapped.

I'm not telling you to write only two and three word sentences, but I am telling (suggesting and kindly encouraging) you to omit needless words. Cut out the words, phrases, and scenes that readers skip or skim over. Make your manuscript as tight as possible.

Are you writing this weekend? Going camping? Me? I'll be revising.