The Writer's Craft: Spring Cleaning

George Orwell once said, “Good prose is like a windowpane.” Getting your prose to that state of clarity is, of course, not as simple as it sounds. Maybe that’s why Orwell also said, “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a bout of some painful illness.”

Though spring is associated with fresh starts, writers need to polish and prune all year long. A few quick tips at making every word count:

Organize. Take a metaphoric step back and look at structure. Rearrange or toss out words, sentences, and even entire paragraphs that don’t support your story. If you’re in love with a section that simply doesn’t fit but you can’t bear to trash it, save it in a “Cuts” folder. Chances are you’ll never miss it and never return to it … but it’s there just in case you want to try it on for a different project.

Lose the deadwood. Can you say the same thing in fewer words? Helper verbs (was, been, have, could, does, etc.) aren’t always helpful. Take a closer look. Maybe you can even trim a letter here and there. (“Toward” is better than “towards.”)

Go for more color. Cut back on nonspecific verbs like “went” and aim for something better suited to character, setting, or story, like “raced” or “dawdled.” Trade in vague constructions like “There are” for something more pointed.

Retrain. Look for overused words or lazy habits. Make a list of your usual suspects and search them out. (Use your word processor’s Find feature if necessary.) Eventually you’ll recognize the offenders as you’re typing and replace them automatically.

Tweak, trim, and repeat until your prose sparkles. Self-editing is a skill that can be acquired through practice or with the help of a style guide. A classic is Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.