KILL THE WORDS-NOT THE STORY

As August 25th draws near, the publishing date of my next novel, THE MOUSE THAT BECAME THE CAT it is crunch time for the final edits.

Every author who self edits, (because of budgets), begins to age quickly. This is the time when unnecessary words and passages must be eliminated.  

Every writer has their own way of doing things. Why should I be different? I found a way that works for me. Let me warn you, it is tedious and labor intensive.

However, that being said, in the long run it will make you a better writer. I promise.

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FIRST AND FOREMOST-WRITE YOUR BOOK
Get it out and finish it, then go back and begin squeezing it and nurturing it. Remember it's yours.
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I have read several articles about unnecessary words authors do not need to use. The group to the left is about half of all the words you can throw out.
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This is what I do.
1. On a 3 x 5 card I have written a list of all unnecessary words and rest in front of my computer screen. It's my cheat sheet of what not to do.
2. Editing one page at a time I open "word document" and go to "HOME" then on the far right side I hit "FIND".  This allows you to type in a word, such as "could" and everyplace "could" is on that page is highlighted. 
3.  I re-read the sentence, eliminate the word, or if necessary re-work the sentence

I'll be honest, at first it was difficult but with the help of a book "THE WORD LOSS DIET" BY Rayne Hall it started me on the road to writing stories that were tighter and stronger..
​His book is helpful for any writer starting out.

This is not the only book that a writer beginning their journey should have.  Another book, "THE EMOTION THESAURUS, A WRITER'S GUIDE TO CHARACTER EXPRESSION"  is one of a series of books by these two authors who are very helpful.
Great website http://writershelpingwriters.net/

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Take a chapter of your most recent work and try going through just the words I have listed. You would be amazed at what you will find. Cut, slice, eliminate all of these words where you can and you'll see a difference.

If you are just starting out it is a great habit to get into, but don't worry about it at the outset. PLEASE-WRITE YOUR BOOK FIRST
You are an artist. Your book is your canvas. As you begin with your outline, it grows into chapters, the story develops and soon it is completed.

Then you re-write, edit, re-write, edit.
 The the world is now ready for your masterpiece. 

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