So far, we’ve discussed the overuse of exclamation points, quotation marks, and italics.
With those basics under our belt, let’s continue to clean up our manuscripts as we talk about how to avoid repetition and write tight.
Every writer has pet words and phrases that must be weeded from his or her manuscript. A few of the most common are: just, really, that, then, truly, simply, slowly, gently, suddenly, as if, however, therefore, seemed to, and began to.
Writers also tend to over-explain. If you’re doing a good job showing your story, don’t continue by telling it as well. Be careful not to overwhelm your reader with details, unless they move the story forward. Avoid taking rabbit trails. You don’t want your reader to get lost, needing a GPS to find the way back to your plot.
Another big problem is the overuse of the word I, especially in fiction. Let’s get one final piece of advice from literary agent Chip McGregor’s blog post, What Drives an Editor Crazy?
Print out a copy of your proposal or manuscript and look it over. If the FIRST WORD of every paragraph is the same, you need to go back and change it. (Unless the first word of every paragraph is the word “I,” in which case you need to be slapped by the person sitting next to you, THEN go back and change it.
The bottom line is this: Anything you use over and over in your story—whether it’s punctuation, words, phrases, descriptions, or names—will jump off the page and wear on your reader. I once read a book and—about halfway through—decided if the author used a certain word one more time, I would put the book down and never touch it again. (Actually, I had to make myself finish the book, and I’ve never read anything else by that author.)
Adopt the concept, less is more. Watch for redundancies. Make your words count. When you proof your work, read it out loud. Put yourself in the head of your reader.
Homework: Compose a devotion or article of 500 words, then go back and cut it down to 300 words. It’s much harder than you think, but it will be time well spent as you learn to think outside the box and use your words in the best way possible. (When you come up with a great devotion, don’t forget to submit it to www.ChristianDevotions.us. Be sure to check the guidelines on the website. J)
Get Rid of Gimmicks
Denise Loock
3/15/2024
Avoid Pronoun-Antecedent Dysphoria
Cindy Sproles
3/13/2024
Assignment 6 - Self-Editing Is Not For the Faint of Heart
Andrea Merrell
2/17/2024
Assignment 5 - What in the World is a One Sheet - Andrea Merrell
Cindy Sproles
2/8/2024
Assignment 4 - Storytelling Your Life Lessons
Lucinda Secrest McDowell
2/3/2024
Learn to Show, Not Tell Your Story
Cindy Sproles
1/26/2024
Spit shine that Work - Assignment 3
Cindy Sproles
1/20/2024
Oh! I Need a Professional Email Address?
Cindy Sproles
1/16/2024
Bio, Bio, Who's Got the Bio
Cindy Sproles
1/4/2024
Get in the Mood to Write - Assignment 5
Cindy Sproles
2/13/2023
Assignment 4 - The 5 Cs of an Elevator Pitch
Cindy Sproles
2/2/2023
Appropriate Emails - [email protected] - Assignment 3
Cindy Sproles
1/21/2023
Assignment 2 - Creative Non-Fiction
Cindy Sproles
1/15/2023
Don't Write Your Bio - Write WHY ME? - Assignment 1
Bob Hostetler
1/4/2023
How to Make the Most of Your Conference Experience - Assignment 7
Cindy Sproles
2/12/2022
Sensory Perception Enhances Your Writing - Assignment 4
Cindy Sproles
1/22/2022
January 16, Assignment 3 - Bring Your Characters to Life
Cindy Sproles
1/16/2022
Assignment 2 - Titles & Sentences - Nancy Lohr
Cindy Sproles
1/8/2022
An Adjective Safari - Assignment 1
Denise Loock
1/5/2022
Assignment 5 - Don't Waste Your Conference Experience
Cindy Sproles
2/6/2021
January 24, Assignment Four - Time to Shoot the Weasel Words
Cindy Sproles
1/24/2021
Assignment 3 - The Role of Speaker Tags and Beats
Cindy Sproles
1/21/2021
January 10, Assignment 2 (1 of 2 assignments)
Cindy Sproles
1/10/2021
Assignment 1 - ACWC January 5 - Let's Start with a Bio
Cindy Sproles
1/5/2021
February 1 - Assignments 5 & 6 - Linda Glaz
Cindy Sproles
2/1/2020
How Not to Get an Agent - Assignment 7
Bob Hostetler
2/10/2019
It's Not What You Know; It's Who You Know - Assignment 4
Bob Hostetler
1/20/2019
Stay on Track with a Writing Schedule - Assignment 3
Larry Leech
1/13/2019
Assignment 2 - Finding Speaker Topics
Beth Fortune
1/5/2019
IMAGERY–WHEN THIS IS LIKE THAT
By Ann Tatlock
12/30/2018
Asheville Christian Writers Conference Privacy Policy
Cindy Sproles
6/4/2018
2018 Writers Charge
Cindy
2/18/2018
Getting Rid of “I” Disease - Assignment 3
Andrea Merrell
1/14/2018
Curb Your Adverb Addiction - Assignment 2
Denise Loock
1/7/2018
WHO ARE YOU? - Writing Your Bio
Cindy Sproles
11/17/2017
WRITING IN A PICKLE
Cindy Sproles
11/13/2017
THE NaNoWriMo CHALLENGE
Cindy Sproles
11/10/2017
BRINGING YOUR CHARACTERS TO LIFE
By Andrea Merrell
2/12/2017
DON’T LET SPEAKER BEATS RUIN YOUR MANUSCRIPT
By Andrea Merrell
2/5/2017
HOW TO CRAFT GREAT DIALOGUE
By Andrea Merrell
1/30/2017
AVOID REPETITION AND WRITE TIGHT
By Andrea Merrell
1/20/2017
THE QUOTATION QUOTA – ASSIGNMENT 2
By Andrea Merrell
1/13/2017
ELIMINATE THE EXCLAMATION POINTS – ASSIGNMENT 1
By Andrea Merrell
1/7/2017
WRITING ADVICE FROM MARK TWAIN: WRITE WITHOUT PAY UNTIL SOMEBODY OFFERS TO PAY
By Sandra Merville Hart
12/22/2016
WHEN THE STORY STALLS IN THE MIDDLE
by Sandra Merville Hart
12/20/2016
WHO REALLY SELLS YOUR BOOKS ?
by Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted
9/20/2016
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR 15-MINUTE APPOINTMENTS
by Cindy Sproles
9/16/2016
ARRRGH! ANOTHER REJECTION – CINDY SPROLES
by Cindy Sproles
9/12/2016
FROZEN IN PLACE – ICEY SELF-TALK TO FREEZE YOUR WRITING
By Cindy Sproles
9/8/2016
THE BIO – THE FRAGRANCE OF WHO YOU ARE
by Cindy Sproles
9/3/2016
THE PAIN OF UNSOLICITED
by Cindy Sproles
8/29/2016
REDUNDANCY: AN EXCESSIVE, OPPRESSIVE, PERVASIVE DISEASE
By Denise Loock
8/26/2016
7 THINGS TO DO NOW TO BE READY WHEN WRITING INSPIRATION STRIKES – EDIE MELSON
by Edie Melson
8/23/2016
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR 15-MINUTE CONFERENCE APPOINTMENTS
by Cindy Sproles
8/20/2016
WHY SHOULD I ATTEND THE ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE?
by Cindy Sproles
8/17/2016
YOU NEED A PLATFORM – LIVING A STORY- ASSIGNMENT 3
By La-tan Murphy
1/20/2016
THE ONE SHEET
by Cindy Sproles
1/8/2016
OVER-EDIT?
By Steven James
11/4/2015
