Slashing Your Word Count

A guide for over-writers. 

So there I was, sitting in front of my 120,000 word YA Fantasy manuscript having a breakdown. Why? you ask. Well, because I want to be traditionally published and no one will buy a YA debut that long. 

Why not? This answer would a post on its own. Or a 24 minute video. Luckily Alexa Donne has already done that work and you can watch it here. 

Now I’m going to summarise all the advice I was given that had lead to me doing a brutally cut down draft in two sections, the big cuts, macro level, and the small cuts, micro level. 

Micro Level Cuts

1. Reduce each description by 1 or 2 words - @coffee_loving_artist
2. Reduce dialogue. Single spoken words can carry more emotional weight than elongated lines. 
3. Cut down on dialogue and action tags. If it’s clear who is speaking, don’t use anything! - @parisandherbooks
4. Cut repeated sentences. It’s not as dramatic as you think it is. 
5. Simplify convoluted sentences - @jade_d_brown
6. Cut words like very, quite, sort of, kind of, it was, there was, that, now, then, suddenly and any crutch words you have - @just.a_simple_writer
7. Change passive language - @laurenkayzles

Macro Level Cuts

1. Chop off the beginning and the end of long scenes. 
2. Cut info dumps
3. Never get lost in internal monologue. Keep it to a small para at most. 
4. Cut fluff scenes - @teen_writing_101 & @cakeyboy 
5. It doesn’t take 1000 words to make a small point – condense it!!
6. Cut unnecessary dialogue or chit chat 
7. Merge scenes that feel repetitive 
8. Cut the prologue 
9. Cut the epilogue 
10. (Remember that those can go back in after your book has been bought) 
11. If you’re desperate, delete a POV - @thewritingfirebird
12. Ask your Beta’s which subplots/characters could go - @howwhyandsowhat 

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A Guide to Writer Lingo - Drafts

When I was new to the writing community I was confused about what to expect from each draft. When is draft 1complete? Where’s the line between draft 2, 3, 4+? How much editing goes into each one? Does each draft serve a different purpose? Now I’ve been here for a while and on my 3rd draft, I’m ready to answer those questions. 

There are no set rules on drafting.

Everyone’s drafting process is different. Some people move onto draft 2 before even writing an ending to draft 1. Some people like to do a draft 0. Some people call their outline draft 1. What I’m writing below is what I’ve seen to be the most common meanings.

• Beat Sheet - This is written before the outline and follows the Save the Cat! plot structure. It breaks the story down into key plot points, spread out across three acts. 
• Outline -  This can be a written document, a spreadsheet, revision cards on a wall, or not exist at all (shout out to the pansters). This is where the main plot is laid out from start to end, including subplots, and divided into chapters. 
• 0th Draft - Also called a dirty draft, some authors use this name to take the pressure off while drafting. If you struggle to accept that your first draft won’t be as good as you want it to be, it might be worth doing a messy 0th draft that no one but you will ever read. 
• 1st Draft - By the end of the first draft, a book should have every chapter written at least once. The wording might not be perfect, subplots might need consolidating, plot twists might need foreshadowing and clarity might be required on a number of things. Most people share their 1st draft with a critique partner, a first reader or an alpha reader, but personally, I like to ensure contingency in my 2nd draft and then share that.
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th+ Draft - This is where the waters get muddy because every writer does these very differently. I create a new draft every time I do a round of edits from start to finish, chronologically through my book. I also start a new draft on each round of beta reader feedback, but really there are no real rules about drafts 2+ and you can divide them as you see fit.

Which draft do I submit to agents/publishers? 

Again, there are no hard-set rules on this. It is advised that you do not submit your first draft. You should have completed at least one round of edits and have had a few beta readers before submitting to agents as they want clean manuscripts without plot holes, contingency issues, and grammar mistakes. 

I hope this has helped and feel free to add to this below as drafts are hugely subjective!

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Now be honest with me, how many beautiful notebooks do you own? How many of them are empty right now? Yes, I know, you’re waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them. The perfect story. The time you won’t cross anything out. The time you won’t change a thing. Well that time won’t come and you’re wasting them. *Bops you on the head with a pretty notebook* 

The purpose of a writers journal is not to create artwork worthy of a museum, but to help your ideas flow. Sometimes when writing things down, you can even bounce ideas off yourself! It’s amazing! So stop holding back and give it a go. 

Here are my top tips on journaling: 

• Don’t worry about keeping it neat (as long as you can read it, it’s good)
• Use different notebooks for different things (Plotting, Research, World-building, History, Magic, Religion)
• Use headings so topics are easy to find
• 3am inspo? Write it down! No don’t get your phone out, you want to go to sleep after this. You can develop it in the morning. 
• SketchIf you’re struggling to visualise something in you WIP, sketch it even if you can’t draw. Remember, this is just for you.
• Solving plot holes? Use an idea dump. This is where you just vomit every idea you have to solve it onto the page and then work your way through each option. 
• Write ideas for made up names/words down. Stick every variation you’ve considered on the page and then you can try merging them or you can simply see which one looks best. Bonus points because you can look back on how you cam up with it. 

For editing journals specifically try:

• Make lists of things you still want to ‘show’
• Make lists of things you want to add
• Write down problems you find when reading through, then you get to cross them off when you solve them. 

I hope this was helpful. Leave any additions below!!!

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Writing With No Motivation

I wrote my first draft in three months. All 110,000 words of it. I have ADHD, so concentration isn’t easy for me and during this time I was working a full time job. I wrote in evenings and on weekends, and you can bet I didn’t feel motivated to write every single day, but I did and I’m here so tell you how.

1. Have a set time to write. 

I committed myself to an hour of writing daily in which I would bash out 1,000 words. Getting into a routine helped me write even when I didn’t really feel like it, I just became used to writing at this time every day. If you can’t do 1,000 words in an hour, that’s okay. Set a time goal instead of a word count goal, I find that allows me to put extra energy into concentrating as I know when it will end.

2. Remove distractions from sight.

Object permanence is a myth. Put your phone in the next room, or under your pillow when you’re at your desk, put it on absolute silent. Get noise-cancelling headphones to block out kids/siblings. If you get an impulse to do something, write it down and do it after. Turn your wifi off and only turn it back on for research purposes.

3. 20 minute sprints

On days when you really don’t feel like writing, set a 20 minute timer and a minimum word count of 200 words. Bash that out and if you’re not in the flow after 20 minutes, stop, but you might find you are, so carry on until it ends! Remember, any no. of words a day is better than 0.

4. Get a Concentration Candle

The candle is only allowed to be lit while you’re concentrating. If you get distracted, you have to blow it out and that’s kinda sad. Also if it’s scented you’ll start to associate the smell with concentrating and writing and that will help you feel ventured and focused. Idk why this works so well, but it really does, trust me.

5. Work out where the scene/chapter/act/story is going.

One of my biggest deterrents for writing is not knowing what to put on the page next. I struggle to do both pretty words and developing a good plot at the same time. So I block out the scene, I plot, I get excited about the rest of the book, I make sure this scene or chapter is important! This never fails to motivate me.

I hope this has helped! Feel free to add to this!

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So you’ve written your outline, maybe even your first draft, and you’re a bit worried about the length. Maybe it’s too short for your genre. Maybe you feel something’s missing. Well fear not! There are many ways you can flesh out your plot without making it feel botched and pointless. 

1)Check your beats. Whether or not you’re actively using Save the Cat! as a structure, the beats make for good inspiration. Do you have a clear theme? Do you have a clear catalyst? Do you have a mid-point that raises the stakes? Do you have a B plot? If you’re missing any of these, it might be a good idea to weave them in. 

2)Foreshadowing.This is a good time to ask yourself if you’ve foreshadowed your plot twists and major character decisions. Have you laid the groundwork? Is it justified in the text? If not, you might want to add another couple of scenes that show the reasoning behind the plot twits and big decisions in your novel. 

3)Light Relief. If you really want your reader to feel something when reading your book, you need good dynamics. That means soaring highs before tragic lows. If your book lacks light relief, your reader will become used to the tragedy and it won’t have the same impact. Don’t underestimate the need for a bit of fluff here and there. 

4)Relationships.No, I am not talking about your romantic interest. I’m talking about friends, family, enemies. Explore how you can develop these, how they shape the character. If you’re planning on killing one of them off, make sure we see how much they mean to the protagonist to ensure it will really hurt the reader.

So there you have it, just a few ideas for fleshing out your plot. Feel free to add any other you can think of below! Happy writing! 

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We’ve all been there. Staring at our planning document with a long list of characters who are like our children. We love every single one of them, but what about the reader? Will they get confused? Will they be able to keep track? Will they care about any of your characters if they don’t get enough page time? 

If these questions have plagued you, it might be time to think about who gets the chop. To help with the dilemma, I have put together a list of questions to ask yourself.

1. What does each character bring to the story thematically?
2. List what each character does to advance the plot?
3. Could any of these things easily be done by another character?
4. Do they all have distinctive personalities? 
5. Do they all have distinctive mannerisms/speech/appearances?

If you’re struggling to answer these with a clear yes or no, it might be time to bin some characters. Bonus questions to consider are:

1. Is there potential to merge two characters into one? 
2. Does this character need a name, or are they just an extra?

Hope this helped!

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How Echo Words Make Your Writing Weak

What are echo words? 

An ‘echo word’ is a key word that had been repeated within a sentence or paragraph. With certain words or phrases, it can even be a problem across a page, a chapter or an entire book! Usually, an echo word is a noun or descriptor. Pronouns, conjunctions or the word said arenot echo words as these are often ‘invisible’ to the reader. 

Why are they a problem? 

Echo words can make your writing sound disjointed and repetitive, resulting in bad flow. This puts space between the reader and the content, pulling them out of the story if they notice it or just find it annoying. For example: 

Eliza picked up the pen, eager to begin her letter. She pressed the pen to the page and began scribbling fiercely. 

This might not bother you, but the double use of pen really bothers me, as well as many other editors and readers. I’m having to mentally restrain myself from changing the second instance to nib. 

How to fix them?

Thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, there are free online tools like wordcounter.net which identify your most used words and phrases. This may bring your attention to any echo words that you’re prone to overusing. You don’t have to get rid of all of them, but it might just make you more aware. 

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So you’ve probably heard this thrown around a lot in the writing community, and maybe you’re a Save The Cat! structure enthusiast already, but if not this is a brief introduction to the 3 act structure. Please note that I use ‘hero’ and ‘bad guys’ as terms for guys, gals and non-binary pals. 

Act 1

This is where we set the scene. The first 15-20% of your book should be an introduction to the character and their life as it is. These first few chapters should show your character’s attributes and flaws while settling up the book’s theme. This is also the home for any fundamental world building that you want to use later. Act 1 ends either at the catalyst or the moment the hero decides to act on the catalyst. This is the moment of ‘For our hero, life was perfectly normal—if a little rough—UNTIL!’

Act 2

Remember that life we just introduced? Well it’s about to get seriously upended. That’s act 2. This is where our character gets thrown into something new, something that’s going to change them even though they don’t know it yet. They might expect this to fix their life, but it’s not a real fix. It’s a bandage on the bullet hole caused by their flaws—the real thing they need to fix. This usually coincides with our hero meeting someone new, someone who will guide them through this change. This act is where the tensions begin to rise, the stakes are revealed, the bad guys (both physical and metaphorical) are getting closer, but don’t forget to throw in some light hearted scenes, some excitement and some comedic relief. This is about 50% of your novel and it all ends when your character flaws catch up to them and they make a mistake that leads to their worst fear coming true. This is where you break your character. 

Act 3

Do allow your character some time to mope and process whatever atrocities you’ve thrown at them. It’s the least you can do after ruining their lives. Once that’s over we can get right into act 3. Act three is the finale. The stakes have never been higher, the danger had never been more pressing, and after some serious soul searching, your character is ready for the final stand. This is where your character stops running from their flaws and learns to change. Whether they win or lose, they are not the person they were at the start. 

Act three ends with the end of the book. A final image of the world that will help the reader say goodbye to the characters they have grown to love or perhaps an evil cliffhanger that will ensure they read the next book. 

And there you have it! A short introduction to the three acts of Save The Cat!

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Great cover art by George Ziel, 1975

For all three people on here who might know The Three Investigators/Die Drei ???…

“First” Justus (/Jupiter) Jonas - INTJ

“Second” Peter Shaw - ESFP

“Third” Bob Andrews - ISFJ