Tighten. . . Tighter! . . . Got it!

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.