Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published
I’m as guilty as the next writer in that I include redundancies in my draft manuscript. When I’m writing my draft, I focus on getting the story out of my head and into the computer.
I look for redundancies when I revise my story. And I revise it more times than I want to count! Below is a list [Read more…] about For a Stronger Story, Seek and Delete Redundancies in Your Writing
Every writer has words she or he uses too often. I call them crutch words. Words like “well, smiled, laughed, however, tears, cried” etc., in addition to adverb usage.
These words aren’t easily spotted when you revise simply because you’re looking at other things like character and plot development.
So today I’m going to show you how to find those words whether you use MS Word or Scrivener. [Read more…] about How to find overused words in your manuscript
In his book The Art of War for Writers, James Scott Bell says,
[E]very character in every scene must have an objective, otherwise he shouldn’t be there. Replace him with a chair.
Review your WIP. If you find a character(s) who is superfluous? Do as Bell suggests, rewrite the scene and cut the character.
Now reread the scene. Is it stronger, weaker, mediocre? Revise until you are satisfied. It may mean putting the character back in, but do that only after you’ve determined his/her objective.