It's a Dare - Cut 1,000 Words

They're precious. Each one means something. And yet, we all know how it feels when the book (or article, or textbook chapter) drags on.

As a rule, readers value concision. They want to read the story in just as many words as it takes to tell, not five hundred extra describing the shape of an irrelevant tree. (Now there are many descriptions of trees that add to atmosphere, mood, or even plot, but if it doesn't check one of these boxes, it doesn't make the cut!)

Over the length of a manuscript, a thousand words is truly small. It represents maybe 1 or 2% of the whole manuscript.

In my continuing editorial education, a renowned editor from the LA Times, Steve Padilla, shared his challenge to the writers he works with. After they write and revise their articles, he challenges them to cut 30 more words.

Keep in mind that newspaper articles are only 500-1000 words. Taking out 30 words here represents 3-6% of the whole. Padilla maintains that this practice tightens the story and the writing just that much more.

And there are always places to cut.

Let me know how your word-cutting goes!

A tip for those of you who, like me, struggle to think that our brilliant turns-of-phrase might be lost in the ether once we hit delete: create a folder for each project called "Darlings" where those cut words can live forever (just not in the body of the manuscript).