I know i will be up to this part of editing soon. (Well probably a month or two away)
Rachel Gardiner recommends that before submitting or publishing your manuscript it could be in your best interest to do another round of edits and cut 10 words per page.
How?
Look for -ly words. Are they necessary?
So too for -ing words
cut out passive voice - 'was', 'were' and 'that'
shorten description
shorten internal monologue or show thoughts and feelings through dialogue or action.
repetitive telling what the reader already knows.
And, carefully considering a big list of overused words:
about, actually, almost, like, appears, approximately, basically, close to, even, eventually, exactly, finally, just, just then, kind of, nearly, practically, really, seems, simply, somehow, somewhat, sort of, suddenly, truly, utterly, were.
I don't know what my overused words are - well, actually i think i use 'hoped' too much!
What are your best editing tips, or overused words?
I agree with all this, my only words of caution, don't over do it. Plenty of my favourite books make all these 'mistakes' and while yes, you could certainly fix them, sometimes it adds to the character of your writing. It's all a matter of balance :)
ReplyDeleteI agree Nicole, any rule can be broken in writing as long as it is executed right!
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