Almost finished with ch. 3; word count - 5,273
Writing Tip: Sometimes you want your work to feel loose, casual, meandering. Gentle words drifting around the point of view character's perception of the situation accentuates the readers' interpretation.
However, more often than we like, our writing benefits from precise execution of plot, setting, and character with fewer, straightforward words.
So we rewrite for tightness:
Effie placed a hand on her stomach that felt hollow.
Effie placed a hand on her hollow stomach.
Effie searched through the mess the ranger had made when he ransacked the house. While her hands worked to uncover the map, her mouth muttered descriptive words of the rogue ranger.
Effie searched the ransacked house. Outrage fueled her frenzied search. Epitaphs against the rogue ranger released her steaming frustration.
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Mrs. Paul is a fantasy author and grandma. 
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Great examples! Re-writing for tightness is definitely something I need to do today and every day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!
I've been editing my short story, and I've been noticing how 'loose' my sentences are. I'm trying to fix that.
ReplyDeleteSo, how is writing coming along? Any writing tips from the past week or so?
ReplyDelete