I wrote a Flash Fiction piece to enter in my state organizations's annual writing contest. The maximum number of words is 500. That's not much to tell a whole story, one with a beginning, middle, and end.
My story idea came from a freewrite on a Random Word exercise. When I'd finished the 10 minute writing exercise, it occurred to me that I could expand on what I'd written to make a full story.
I finished the first draft, let it sit a while, changed a few things, then subbed it to my online writing group for critique. Suggestions and comments from a few of them came next. Each person wanted certain things added to the story to make it more clear. Hmmm... That sounded fine until I realized my word count would go over the specified amount.
Right now, I am in the process of both expanding and cutting. Put this in! Take this out! Is this part absolutely necessary?
The best part about cutting words is that it is not as difficult as you might think. Unnecessary words can be tossed, making no difference to the story.. The preceding sentence is a rewrite. I originally wrote: There are many unnecessary words that can be tossed, making no difference to the story itself. The same information is given, but in fewer words.
These are a few ways you can cut words:
Unnecessary Words: How many times have you added words like really, very, usually and others that have no real importance in the sentence? We use them for emphasis, but it's not a must-do. The word 'that' can be eliminated in many cases. It's an extra we throw in without thinking.
Active Verbs: Many times, we use passive verbs that require two words, like 'were working' or 'were collected' when you can write 'worked' or 'collected' We should strive to use active verbs whenever we write, not only when we hope to cut words.
Eliminate Conjunctions: Instead of writing a compound sentence, using and, but, or, & nor as a connection, cut your long sentence into two, getting rid of those conjunctions. Yes, it is only one word, but do it often enough throughout a whole story, and it will make a difference. Use the compound sentence occasionally, but not on a regular basis. (NOTE: I could have deleted all the words after the comma in the preceding sentence. Nothing is lost, and the sentence is 6 words shorter.)
Adverbs and Adjectives: Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. If you have no word count restrictions, go ahead and use adjectives, but keep them to one, never more than two per noun. Eliminate adverbs whenever possible. They are telling rather than showing.
Needless Transitions: Sometimes we feel the need to use a transition from one paragraph to the next. The reader will do just fine without one. Things like 'Indeed' or 'Needless to say' are not necessary.
Repeating Words: It's easy to be guilty of repeating words close together. We do so without even realizing it. If you wrote: 'The Polar Bears are native to our far northern climates where the Polar Bears live.' You can easily eliminate the second 'Polar Bears' by ending the sentence after 'climates'
The examples above are only a few ways you can cut words. Find others through your favorite search engine. Keep them in mind when you do a proofreading and edit of your first draft. Better yet, think about them as you write the early draft.
Today's quote, from Stephen King, is a popular one, used many times, many places. We probably should heed it.
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