A Guide to Slashing Word Count

A while back, I posted a compilation of advice that I’d received from other writers before trying to cut down my 120,000 word YA fantasy manuscript. Six months later, it’s at 100,000 – a far more acceptable number. It was a brutal task, but a necessary one and I’m here to share the key strategies that helped me cut the big chunks:

• Cut Characters – Big cast? Remove subplot-only bois and mains who either don’t influence the plot or whose role could be carried out by another.
• Cut Scenes – If they don’t directly advance the plot, cut completely. If they serve some purpose, try merging scenes to reduce intro/outro/location content. One long scene is shorter than two short scenes.
• Reduce Locations – Within a chapter, visit as few locations as possible to avoid extra descriptions. This is also relevant across the book, as you won’t need to go into detail about a location more than once.
• Cut Pre Scene and Post Scene – This can either be by starting the scene later (getting straight to the point) and ending it earlier or condensing the pre and post scene content. As a rule of thumb, a pre-scene should be 500 max.
• Have Clear Motivations – If your characters’ motivations are too complex, explaining/showing them will take up too much space. Nuance can grow over time.
• Get to the Heart of Your Story – Carrying on from the last point, maybe try writing a pitch and synopsis so that you better understand what’s at the heart of your story, that way you can whittle down anything outside of that with the brutality needed for reducing word count.

Now, go forth and kill your darlings!

Then come back for part 2 where I’ll be talking about the line-level (micro) cuts that really do add up!

Tips for New Writers

After some time off to finish uni and recover, the writing tips are back! I had some requests for this post so whether you’re new to writing or looking to start, here are my top tips.

1. Start a Passion Project

If you’re hung up over your first story getting published, you’ll start to hate it. Your first project should be something you love enough to finish it for you. I honestly recommend fanfiction as it’s a great way to get early feedback and become used to critique, but an own story is just as good as long as you join a critique group.

2. Join a Writing Community

Whether that’s on Instagram, Tumblr, a real-life society, or somewhere else entirely, there are many reasons to join the writer’s community with a platform of your own. It’s the best way to find Critique Partners (CPs), Beta Readers, as well as a wealth of tips that will improve your writing.

3. Explore Planning Methods

You’ll need to use trial and error to decide what works best for you. Try fully outlining, diving straight in, Beat Sheets, Flash Cards, Ten Steps Ahead, or even just making lists of what you want to show. One will work for you, but it’s different for everyone.

4.Write

Write as often as you can. Nothing makes writing stronger than practice. It doesn’t have to be “good” or neat or pretty, but words should go on the page. Don’t let your insecurities keep you from filling that blank page.

[If reposting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]

We all know I am a huge plotter – like excel spreadsheet level – but I wasn’t always like this. I’ve used many methods in the past and here are the best ones:

The Big Plot Points 

In this method, you simply write out the big points like the catalyst, the midpoint, the climax and any big plot twists in your story. This helps you keep in mind the focus of your story as you write it, without actually plotting. 

Baby Steps 

More detailed than the Big Plot Points, Baby Steps involves writing all the little plot points down in chronological order. Think of it like a list of directions that get you from the first page to the end of the story. You can stray from the path, but this helps you know exactly where you’re going and what you want to achieve along the way. 

Next 10 Steps 

This is one I used a lot when writing fanfic in conjunction with the Big Plot Points. Here I would literally plan out the next 10 things that I wanted to happen in the story and treat it as a mini arc. If I’d known more about story structure, I could have done this 4 times and ended up with 4 acts (1, 2a, 2b, and 3). Instead, I did it 6 times and ending up with 170k words… don’t be me.

Save the Cat! Beat Sheet

An industry classic, the 15 beats of Save the Cat! can help you outline all the key moments that shape a story without interfering with panster discovery fun. This method breaks each of the 4 acts mentioned above into bite sized chunks to ensure that all elements of a compelling story are there. I would highly recommend the book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody if you want to learn more about this essential method.  

Enjoy Editing 

Finally if outlining is not for you, you’ll need to become well acquainted with editing. All drafts take editing, but many pansters will spend more time on this stage than plotters, but then plotters spend more time plotting! There’s nothing wrong with being a complete panster, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you wish to forgo the plotting stage entirely.

As always, hoped this helped! 

[If reposting to Instagram, please tag @isabellestonebooks] 

Looking to develop your villain further? Trying to build a villain for the first time?  Look no further for here is a simple guide to building a fearsome villain for your story. Disclaimer: I’m a fantasy writer, this will be fantasy based. 

Step 1: Choose a Motivation

While this can be anything, some common motivations are: Power, Legacy, Revenge, Respect, Protectionism, Hate, Love, Indifference, Drive for Utopia, and Infliction of Pain. Now you might be thinking I can understand why the last one is villainous, but some of the others seem okay! Remember, a villains motivations should be understandable, and their goals can be noble, but it is the means that make them “bad.”

Step 2: Decide if They Really are “Bad” 

Despite my previous statement, some villains are just trying to achieve noble goals by noble means. This is actually a really good way to get your audience thinking about your theme if it ties in well. The flipside of this is my personal favourite – make the heroes bad too. 

Step 3: Design Their Personality 

There are a few traits you’ll want to consider in particular and in the extremes. Make sure to chose the side that your hero will struggle with more. Villains should be handcrafted challengers, designed to ruin your hero. 

• Intelligence vs Stupidity - A villain who can scheme intricate plots is terrifying, but extreme stupidity leads to recklessness and unpredictability, good for control freak heroes. 
• Short Temper vs Controlled Emotions - Short tempered villains are a threat to anyone close to them, while those that can control their emotions can be highly manipulative. 
• Calculated vs Irrational - This again leans into the trade off between the unbeatable factor and the unpredictability factor. Both are equally fearsome.
• Charismatic vs Black Seep – Why do their followers believe in them? Is it because they can talk the hind legs off a donkey or was your villain an outcast come to take their revenge. 

Don’t underestimate the stupid, short tempered, irrational black sheep. They often have intelligent advisors pulling their strings while their stupidity causes chaos like no other. 

Step 4: Ask Yourself Why? 

Not just Why did my villain set out on this path? orWhy don’t they see the harm they’re causing? but also Why have I reached the end of a post specifically using ‘they’ pronouns and imagine a white man with black hair and dark eyes? Because many of you will have done just that, particularly for the intelligent, manipulative villain with more power than you could ever imagine. Ask yourself why intelligent, charismatic villains with goals outside of revenge and love need always be a man. Some villains are just heroes who don’t understood the cost of their actions. Ask yourself why they shouldn’t be diverse and stereotypical caricatures. 

This post is quite long enough. I reckon I’ll do a part 2 if you guys like it :) 

[If reposting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks] 

We’ve all been there. Some people have it all the time. Some say it doesn’t exist. I class writer’s block as anything from lack of motivation to not being able to solve a plot problem. Whatever it is, here’s a list of activities to try and get those creative rivers running. 

1. Move. Pick up your laptop and go to a different room. They say a change is as good as a rest and this can be true with writing. Move to the kitchen. Write outside. Go to a coffee shop. Sit in the cupboard under the stairs and block out the world. Just change up the scenery. 
2. Swap Medium. If words just aren’t doing it for you make aesthetics, mood boards, draw maps or characters. Victoria Aveyard once said she designed book covers and let the plot stew in the back of her mind. 
3. Write Something Else. Working on other projects can give you inspiration for what you’re working on now. Find some prompts. Write irrelevant short stories or character studies. Write about your characters as kids or at defining points in their lives. 
4. Plot. Hands off the keyboard, open up one of those many unused notebooks I know you have and start scribbling vague, half formed ideas. Allow yourself to write things you might discard later. Allow yourself to try and work through an idea you like but don’t understand yet. Try and work out the next 10 steps. 10 things you want to cover. 10 scenes. 10 days. Whatever it is, just write it down. 
5. 20 Minutes Rule. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Sit your butt down in that chair and write for 20 minutes. I don’t care if it’s trash. I don’t care if you’re going to delete it all later. I don’t care if it’s nonsense. Do it. 20 minutes of writing nonsense is still more productive than 20 minutes staring at that wall. After 20 minutes if you still don’t want to write, leave it, but you just might find yourself inspired. 
6. Finally, Take Time Off. If none of this is working, it’s likely a sign of burn out. Take some time for yourself and just do nothing. “Write every single day,” yeah sure if you wont to be a machine who pumps out words instead of art. Sometimes you need to recharge before you move forward and that doesn’t just mean getting a good nights sleep. Look after yourself and be kind. This isn’t a race against the clock, you have your whole life to publish a book. 

[If reposting to instagram please credit my insta account @isabellstonebooks]

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 

[If reposting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]

Writing The Climax

So you’ve reached the final (metaphorical or literal) battle at the end of the book. All the groundwork has been laid and it all leads to this. Sounds sort of terrifying doesn’t it? 

Well, it doesn’t need to! As with everything in writing, there are structures that can be used and things to keep in mind. 

The Structure

Step 1: Make the Plan - Whether your MC is inciting the climax or whether it comes to them, they still need to think of a plan. Before entering act 3, your MC will likely have had an ‘all is lost’ moment where everything went wrong and they had a huge breakdown. They might have some apologising to do, they might need to gather a team, or they simply find the courage in themselves to continue alone. Either way, they need a plan for what to do next. 

Step 2: Execute the Plan - This is exactly what it says on the tin. However, any team members who come should slowly be picked off, killed or separated to ensure the hero can face their struggle alone. These sacrifices will strengthen the hero’s resolve to make that difficult decision or face that challenge coming up. 

Step 3: Expect the Plan to Go off the Rails - This is novel writing, did you really expect the plan to work? Of course it doesn’t! The villain isn’t stupid, they aren’t going to make this easy. They had some surprises in store, surprises that will ruin your heroes plans and require them to finally accept the change and embrace the character development they have been experiencing over the book. 

Step 4: Throw Away the Plan - With the plan in pieces, the hero must think on their feet. This is where every subplot, every foreshadowing scene, every challenge has come to. They must learn the theme, fight against their flaws and take a leap of faith to resolve the problems they face. The reason we have the team fall away is that the hero must make this leap of faith alone, or the reader might feel cheated out of a satisfying ending. 

Step 5: New Plan - No one wants a hero who’s all talk, no action, so let’s see their final stage of new character development put to the test. This can end in success or failure, but if it’s failure, the character development is even more key. It shows that this wasn’t all for nothing; that even though the quest failed, the hero had won in their own way. 

Things to Consider

• Does the climax tie the whole book together in a pretty bow? (though perhaps with some frayed edges) 
• Is your main character the one who had to change for the goal to finally be achieved? If not you might want to think about who your main character should be. 
• What is the price the hero paid?
• Was it too easy?
• Did you end the book right after the climax with no falling action? (Please don’t do this, it’s very unsatisfying) 

[If reposting to instagram, please tag @Isabellestonebooks]

Master List of 60 Character Flaws

1. Absent-Minded
2. Aimless
3. Arrogant
4. Bigoted
5. Blunt
6. Bold
7. Callous
8. Compulsive Liar
9. Cruel
10. Dependent
11. Disloyal
12. Easily Impressionable
13. Emotionally Detached
14. Envious
15. Fickle
16. Greedy
17. Gullible
18. Humourless
19. Ignorant
20. Immature
21. Impatient
22. Indecisive
23. Intolerant
24. Lazy
25. Manipulative
26. Meddlesome
27. Melodramatic
28. Nervous
29. Nosey
30. Obsessive
31. Overambitious
32. Overprotective
33. Pacifism
34. Paranoid
35. Perfectionist*
36. Pessimistic
37. Predictable
38. Prejudiced
39. Prideful
40. Rebellious
41. Reckless
42. Remorseless
43. Sceptic
44. Selfish*
45. Shallow
46. Short temperament
47. Smart-arse
48. Soft-hearted
49. Solemn
50. Spineless
51. Stubborn*
52. Stupid
53. Superstitious
54. Tactless
55. Temperamental
56. Troublemaker
57. Unambitious
58. Vain
59. Weak-willed
60. Withdrawn

* these are frequently overused so if you want them to apply to your character, make sure they have more than one flaw!

However the most important thing about a character flaw is that it MUST work against their goal and they MUST make mistakes because of it. 

[If reposting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]

If you’ve been in the writing community for more than five minutes you’ll have heard someone mention beta readers. Beta reader is an umbrella term for people who read your book before publication but are not your agent, editor and publisher. However there are also subgroups of beta readers and it can all get very confusing, so here the low down. 

• Critique Partner (CP) - A CP is another writer at a similar skill level or stage in their writing career to yourself. This is a mutual arrangement where writing and constructive criticism are exchanged on a regular basis. Some writers give a CP each chapter right after its written, but some just send each other first drafts. 
• Alpha Reader - Once you’ve got your CP’s seal of approval, you might be in need of someone to hype you up and make you feel excited about your achievement. This is when you give your writing to a small number of close friends or family (5 max) to read and get feedback on. They probably won’t be too harsh, but that’s what you need at this stage. 
• First Readers - Sometimes used as a synonym for alpha readers, sometimes used to mean beta readers, and sometimes used to mean both. Watch out for this one. 
• Beta Readers - While also being an umbrella term, more specifically beta readers are a small group of people who read your manuscript and provide feedback that will allow you to polish it. Preferably, these are readers who do not have a personal connection to you. While writers are okay too, they might not give you the readers perspective you need. People often do a few rounds of beta reads to ensure they are never overwhelmed with feedback. 
• Advance Readers - You may have also heard the term Advance Reader Copy (ARC) thrown around. Advance readers receive a free e-book or paperback of the manuscript before publication, but after it has been sold to a publisher. Advance readers receive these in exchange for an honest review that publishers hope will be good marketing material. Some things can be changed from ARC’s to published books, but it’s usually very minor. 

And there it is, the five kinds of beta readers. I hope this makes things less confusing and if you’ve heard of any other kinds feel free to explain them below!

[If reposting to Instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]

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!!!

[If reposting to instagram, please credit @isabellestonebooks]

Who’s the Hero of Your Story?

One mistake new writers make (myself included) is not identifying a central protagonist or even selecting the wrong POV character. This problem is particularly prevalent in multi-POV manuscripts. 

Why do I need to select one central hero?

The simple answer is that the readers need a grounding point; a character who they can read a blurb about and begin rooting for before they even read the first page. 

When you’re trying to juggle more than one hero, you can lose your audience as it’ll take them a lot longer to become invested. It can also be difficult to drive home a theme and this can leave readers feeling unsatisfied. 

But how do I work out which of my main characters is the true hero?

I’m so glad you asked. Try answering these three questions:

1. Who has the most character development, overcoming their flaws? 
2. Who has the most agency? 
3. Who stands to lose the most when the stakes rise? 

If you still have more than one character in mind, maybe think about how that will impact your reader’s experience. As always, writing advice is subjective, but lets take a look at a few multi-POV examples.

Examples of Multi POV, Single Hero: 

• Serpent and Dove - Lou le Blanc
• Six of Crows - Kaz Brekker
• Game of Thrones Book 1 - Ned Stark 
• Eleanor and Park - Park
• Legend - Day 

Though we love hearing from other POV’s, at the end of the day we are still backing the hero. It’s fun to understand other points of view, but if you don’t focus on one character’s wants and needs then you dampen the conflict.

Hope this has helped! 

[If reposting to Instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]

Sounds silly doesn’t it? ‘Of course I understand my book’, I hear you say, I would have said the same before. You might be right, but here is a very simple exercise/test to ensure that you do:

One line summaries. 

Previously, these words invoked a feeling of dread in my soul but they don’t need to! It all changed once I started to follow this easy structure:

While struggling with their everyday life, Character finds the catalyst; BUT when the stakes rise they must learn the theme before the consequences ruin their life. 

Let’s take The Hunger Games for example: 

With her family on the brink of starvation, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen must leave them and take her sister’s place in the Hunger Games, an annual event where 24 teenagers fight to the death until only one survives; But when she is hunted by a pack of elite, highly trained tributes, she must learn who she can trust and form an alliancebefore they kill her and her family are left to rot.

Well damn, that sounds dramatic and enticing, but it also lays out our characters life, wants and challenges all in a single (albeit rather long) sentence. 

After writing my one line summary, I began to understand my plot in a much clearer light. I understand my theme, my focus and it allows me to ground my plot as I edit my manuscript. I only wish I’d known to do it before!

Whatever stage your at—drafting, editing, querying—I highly recommend you give this a try. Feel free to drop a one sentence summary of your WIP below as getting feedback is always really helpful! I’m there much could be done to improve the one line summary I’ve given above, so feel free to improve on that too. 

[If reposting to Instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks] 

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! 

[Please credit @isabellestonebooks if reposting to instagram] 

This is perhaps one of my favourite writing topics. Personally, I always try to leave each chapter on a small cliffhanger. Something that makes the reader want to read on when it’s 1am and they know they should put the book down. To do this effectively you have to know the difference between cliffhangers that raise the stakes and cliffhangers for shock factor. 

The Shock Factor Cliffhanger

We’ve all seen this before. The chapter/book is coming to end and in a last ditch attempt to keep you interested the writer adds a completely unrelated, highly shocking, plot disrupting event.

While the key to a keeping reader interested in a series is to leave them with questions, shock factor cliffhangers feel like a cheap trick that only leaves the reader unsatisfied.  

Does this mean you should avoid shock factor cliffhangers? NO! Just don’t rely on it being the only thing that keeps your reader tethered to your story. 

Take The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, because that was a shock factor cliffhanger and half, but there were other stories left unfinished, other characters we were worried about, other questions we had that demanded answers. Which brings me onto the next kind of cliffhanger. 

The Stake Raising Cliffhanger

A far more subtle form of cliffhanger (and the kind I try to leave at the end of almost every chapter) is one that raises the stakes of the story. It proves a point to each chapter, which helps you as the writer to decide which chapters are needed and which are not. 

This can be anything, small or large. They find a key piece of information, realisation dawns on the protagonist, one of their friends are in danger, they are in danger, they discover something that puts the whole plot at risk, but save the big ones for your catalyst, your midpoint and your all is lost plot points. 

The purpose of these cliffhangers if to leave your reader with unanswered questions, seeking answers they cannot wait till morning to discover, questions that will make them buy the next book! 

What’s the conclusion here? 

Cliffhangers are not about the shock factor, the drama factor, the danger factor. They are about one very simple thing. Questions.

[If reporting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks] 

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. 

[If reposting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]