Writers--Tight is Right

 

When we look at a blank page, be it in a book to use for journaling or on our computer screen, we can write anything we want to. And any way. It's our choice. No holds barred. But wait...

We do have to stay within certain perimeters if we want to see our work published. Editors set word counts. They tell us to send a 'story' not an 'essay' or they tell us what we send must be fiction, or sometimes true. They also don't want writers rambling all over the page. Instead, we're urged to 'write tight.' So many guidelines that fence us in a bit.

To be published, we must follow those rules set by the people who have the final say as to whether your story will be seen by the public or not. 

Let's look at the art of writing tight. Our aim in anything we write is to grab the reader's attention and keep it. If we ramble like a herd of cows on the prairie searching for ever-sweeter grass, we're going to lose our reader in a hurry. 

Master the following and you'll never have a problem being told to write tighter:

1. Eliminate unnecessary words like just, really, quite, very. They do nothing but take up space. 
2. Use active verbs to replace the 'to be' passives like was, is, had been, are. To do this, you may have to flip the order of the sentence. Don't just try to insert the active verb where you had the passive one. It doesn't always work.
3. Practice writing flash fiction; enter flash fiction contests. You want to try the ones that ask for 100 to 300 words, or even less. There can be no extras in this kind of writing. 
4. Delete words wherever you can. If your max word count is 1200, and you have 1357 words, don't despair. You can cut those extra words and not lose anything in your story. I've done it many times, and you can, too. Look for ways to reword a sentence so that it uses fewer words but still gets the same idea across. Cut those unnecessary words. Do all the things mentioned in this list, and you'll be surprised at how many words you can cut. 
5. Get rid of dialog tags by using merely an action to show who spoke. Jane slammed the book on the table. "I will not read anything this woman writes again!" There is no need for the usual 'she said' It's perfectly clear who said it.
6. Use clear and to the point sentences. Don't embellish with lots of adjectives and adverbs.
7. Read a lot of poetry. Why? Poets are masterful in economizing on words. Note how they write and try it in your prose.

Can you write 'too tight?' Yes, and you want to be careful that you don't cut down and out so many things that you've lost your story and will surely lose your readers. 

Keep in mind that 'tight is right.'

Don't Be A Scaredy Cat!

I've known many writers who are afraid to submit their work to an editor. Oh, many of them don't actually speak those words I'm afraid to send my work to an editor. but it's what is running through their mind, maybe even subconsciously. So, they make up excuses as to why they haven't submitted any of the many finished pieces in their files.

They claim they don't have time, or they haven't found the right market yet. Or they'll fool themselves by saying they'll work on it next month because there are too many things going on in their life right now. All of those may be quite valid reasons but it's often a cover-up for the real reason. They're afraid.

That's nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something to work on. I'm the first one to agree that exposing your precious words to the world is filled with risk. The greatest risk being that you'll not only be rejected but also get a scathing rejection letter. They hurt! Darned right they do. But guess what? Maybe the editor will love what you sent, and it will end up being published. Happiness. 

But that can also be a frightening event. Only in the sense that once published, it's gong to be expected that you keep producing good material. You can and will, but you'll also write things that are going to get that rejection letter, too. It's all a part of this writing game we play. 

So, how do you overcome the fear to send your work for other eyes to see? I think it comes down to an attitude adjustment. Have a chat with yourself. A writer needs to develop a tough hide so that the arrows of rejection can't penetrate. You'll never get to the point where it doesn't affect you in some way, but you can become hardened enough to either send the piece out again or file it away for some revisons later. 

As far as being afraid when your work has been accepted--what a wonderful problem to have. Someone liked your writing well enough to publish it and pay for it. Rise to the occasion and keep on writing. You did it once, and you can do it again.