Tuesday's Tidbit: Tightening your Manuscript

I get a rush when writing the first draft of a manuscript. The words sometimes flow too fast for my fingers to type them on the keyboard. The goal, initially, is just to get my ideas down on paper, before my muse grows tired and bails.

It's always 'fun' reading a first draft back after a month-long writing jag. Many times I'll grimace and think, "This is bad...I actually wrote this drivel?" In an effort to express that first drafts really do have promise and shouldn't be shotputted into the circular bin just yet, this blog is devoted to how writers can tighten their first draft and move on to a more polished manuscript.

There are a couple of words that end up interjected in many first drafts that really aren't necessary. They are little words of very little consequence, but when we write, we often pop them into our sentences like we do candy into our mouths. Two of the ones I see most often when editing are "that" and "of". As you review that first draft, take a minute to edit out those two short words. In doing so, you may be surprised to find, in many cases, your intent has stayed the same, but the manuscript reads clearer and tighter.

Another key is to read your manuscript aloud. I have been known to laugh big belly laughs at the cheesy dialogue that comes out of my characters' mouths. For example, we don't always preface our dialogue by saying the person's name. "Good morning, Rebecca. How was your day?" "It was wonderful, John." Now, doesn't that sound the slightest bit like, "See Dick run", from the generic first grade reader? When we read our MS out loud, our ear catches those stilted, formal patterns that would never be uttered in every day speak, and we can edit them to sound more natural.

In reviewing my manuscript, there are times things will run smoothly, and then I hit a sentence that sounds awkward, or wordy, or just doesn't flow right. It's frustrating when you find a problem sentence, but you can't figure out a way to reword it that doesn't sound equally as wooden and choppy. Some advice I got once was to rewrite several different versions of the sentence. Obviously, you don't want to edit out your meaning, but try alternative verbs, sentence lengths, different phraseology. Maybe you'll hit on a version that breathes life to you, and you can slide it into your manuscript so it reads more smoothly and succinctly than it ever has before.

Lastly, when you are writing YA literature it is totally acceptable to use contractions. This is a great way to help your manuscript read more like real life, leaving the awkward stilted wording for B-rated movies. "She can't do it anymore" sounds infinitely better than "She cannot do it anymore." An added bonus is that using contractions cuts down on your word count, if that is something, like me, you are constantly keeping an eye on.

I love the review option on Word, but my editing always comes up in red ink. By the time the page number changes, half of what I've been working on looks like it's bled out. I feel like my red pen has done a Freddy Krueger, from the old slasher movies, and gone postal on my manuscript. I often liken my drafts to my other children, and after editing, they invariably look as if it has suffered a bloody fate at my hands.

Editing can be a daunting task. I've just cut over 2,000 words from my manuscript, so I get it. However, once I've completed the 2nd and 3rd round of revisions, I usually feel a sense of accomplishment. My baby's nip and tuck has yielded a copy that sounds better and reads more true than my initial bloated version. In the end, my red pen, Freddy, and I couldn't be more thrilled at the results.

"I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great rewriters."

---James A. Michener