I’m done!
Draft 3 (or 33 or 333)… The point is, I’m done revising the plot points, character voice and descriptions–the major components.
I’m on my final draft (yeah, let’s go with that…) Now I’m onto a satisfying task: I’m zapping words.
I’m combing through the document searching for and eliminating expendable words. Words like “a little”, “almost”, “anyway”, “definitely”, “really”, “seem”, “some”, etc.
It’s crazy, actually, how many of these words pop up. They truly are extraneous. So far, out of 100,000, I have eliminated 558 of those pesky words–that’s more than two full pages–with nary an impact. Not true, the impact is tight writing which means better, clearer, more polished writing.
My nemesis from my first novel was the word “just”. I tried hard this time to keep it out. I mostly succeeded, but here’s an example of how the word sneaks in when it’s not necessary:
Moto lives on a small island in the eastern-most corner of the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Rahma.
Versus:
Moto lives on a small island in the eastern-most corner of the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Rahma.
There are times I won’t get rid of the word:
He calls down to her every few minutes, telling her to hold on, that they’re coming, just a little longer.
Here, Frank is trying to reassure Lyra when she’s trapped. “Just a little longer” is a common expression, so it makes sense to keep it.
So, I’m getting better on reining in my use of “just”, but it turns out I have another demon.
That.
“That”. I mean the word that. Oh my God, I can’t tell you how many times I wrote that word. I’m still picking my way through the text and zapping them.
Lyra suspected that the end of high school would be the end of their relationship and it saddened her.
Versus:
Lyra suspected the end of high school would be the end of their relationship and it saddened her.
See? No need for it.
Here’s another example:
She realizes that the pain has subsided.
Versus:
She realizes the pain has subsided.
I still have a lot to eliminate, but it’s satisfying to hit delete on words I know aren’t necessary. Imagine my pleasure, then, when I came across this phrase:
It’s just that no one chooses.
Hah, hah! Two of them! Gone!
But no one chooses.
Once I’m done with “that”, I’ll be done with that! (I mean, I’ll be done. Just done. Not done with “that”. Damn. There’s that “just” again. And another “that”. Argh!)