I've written posts about cutting words a number of times. We're often writing to a maximum amount, and it's important to adhere to the what the guidelines tell us.
There is another kind of cutting to consider when you are editing and revising a first draft. You should look for repetition of ideas. There are times when we are trying to make a point, and we do so in a paragraph, then repeat the same idea in the next paragraph but using different words. It's easy to do that when you want to make sure your reader 'gets it' or if you're not sure where to go next so end up repeating much of what you just said. Sound crazy? It's not. Make your point once and move on.
Ask yourself if this paragraph is relevant to the story. Does it make the story move along, or is it extra fluff that is not needed? A moderator of an online writing group many years ago was famous for slashing whole parts of a story when she critiqued. "This does not move the story along" or "This does nothing to your story except add words." Needless to say, she left an impression on me.
If you put in some backstory that has nothing to do with making the character the person he/she is today and has no meaning to what is happening in the present story, forget it. If it is something that helped make the character who he/she is, then it's fine. If you do use some backstory, make sure it does not contain useless information. Tell me that Jordy went to Marion High School and how many students it had and what it looked like, and you're veering off the track. Instead, tell what happened to Jordy in high school that helped make him who he is now.
Another place to cut is overly long descriptions. The classic example is of a character wanting to have a ham sandwich for lunch, so he/she stands up, walks to the fridge, takes out ham, lettuce, and mayo, closes the fridge, walks to the counter, gets a slice of bread, and ..... No one cares about anything other than he/she was going to make a ham sandwich. All those steps in the description do nothing but drag your story down. You can cut it all down to one short sentence. Less us more fits this situation quite well.
We urge writers to give a sense of place in their stories. Writing four paragraphs to describe the place where the two main characters go for a picnic is overkill. Readers get so bogged down in the lengthy description of the picnic spot that they lose track of why the characters are there or what happens next. Keep your sense of place writing to a very few sentences. You can sprinkle them in here and there, not necessarily in one entire paragraph, although that can be done, as well. But keep it to a minimum.
When describing a character, you needn't do it all in one long paragraph. A little here, a little there gives the reader an overall picture.
The above can be summed up to not overdo any part of your story. Pare it to the bone, and you will end up with a stronger piece of writing.
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