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One thousand words???

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Fancynancy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fancynancy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 8:13pm
Currently 145 words to cull. Coffee break. Must unclench teeth.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MattrickBT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 8:22pm
I've culled mine from just under 1500 down to 1172, and I'm only about 3/5's the way through the story.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BenFJackson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 8:30pm
I love it. For the first draft, I tend to write until I'm done.

Then I cut. A LOT. Then I rewrite and cut A LOT more. Then I pray to the wordcount gods.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fancynancy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 8:52pm
This. Hehe. I can see what I need to cut, he's a character with no purpose but I love him and don't want to drop him! Noooo!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tcFlash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 9:12pm
Originally posted by MattrickBT MattrickBT wrote:

Granted, I rarely write short stories and mostly write novels, but here are my tips:

1. Don't worry about the word count first draft, just try and keep it to less than 1500 words. Concentrate on the story.

2. Don't waste time introducing characters, writing back story, or useless exposition. Tell the story with images and action.

3. OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS. I made this caps so it stands out. Chances are, your story is at least 10% needless words. You can eliminate 10-15% of your word count by omitting needless words. Often, a simple restructuring of a sentence, or finding one word to take the place of two or three, will parse your story down to a more manageable level without sacrificing any actual content.

We often write very backwards because we're writing the sentence is it occurs to us, which is not the most efficient way for it to be read. For example. Look for redundant qualifiers like 'more' and 'very' which convey little or non-specific information to the adjective and pick a better adjective, so instead of 'very loud' say 'deafening'.

4 - Determine what is necessary and what is unnecessary. Pick your spots for in-depth description, long strings of dialogue, and exposition. If it doesn't convey meaning necessary to character, setting, or story, scrap it. In a novel, nice little bits are essentially, but in a contest such as this, flourishes are a detriment if it adds nothing to the story. Essentially, unless your characters description actually matters enough to tell me their eye colour, hair colour, what they're wearing, how tall they are, leave it out. Absolute bare essentials.

5 - Lastly, keep your story idea small. You're not telling some grandiose story here with a fascinating world and history; you're providing a sliver. Pick a moment, or a short series of moments, and focus on that. Don't be afraid to be abstract, leave the story open to interpretation. You can save many words alluding to things rather than explaining them outright, through images, actions, or dialogue.

6 - Rewrite. Don't just edit, rewrite the whole thing from scratch, sentence by sentence. Read each sentence and then rewrite to maximize efficiency. Also while re-writing, reorganise information throughout the whole story as this too can eliminate redundancies and correct plot holes and incongruities. Editing alone usually lends to people only fixing mistakes, rather than correct deeper-seeded problems like pacing, order of information, and inconsistencies. Sometimes moving something from the end of the story to the middle (or wherever) means you can eliminate this entire 23 word sentence from another part of the story because it's now redundant.



Number five got me a couple of years ago. Granted, it was in the SSC, not FF, but it still applies. My prompt character was a foreign exchange student. Genre was comedy. I wrote my story about the entire summer he was in the US. I tried to make everything funny. Needless to say.....so I won't say it. Very true. Keep the story focused and small. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tcFlash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 9:15pm
I ended my first draft under 1200. Now it's at 978. That's the best I've done in a long time. I've cut from 2200 before. Misery for me and death to the story.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tcFlash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 9:17pm
Originally posted by BenFJackson BenFJackson wrote:

I love it. For the first draft, I tend to write until I'm done.

Then I cut. A LOT. Then I rewrite and cut A LOT more. Then I pray to the wordcount gods.

I'm a word count god atheist. He never answered my prayers. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MattrickBT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 9:20pm
I'm the only god in my writing. I am a vengeful God. Ask all the poor people I've destroyed. Oh wait, YOU CAN'T.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tcFlash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 9:25pm
Originally posted by MattrickBT MattrickBT wrote:

I'm the only god in my writing. I am a vengeful God. Ask all the poor people I've destroyed. Oh wait, YOU CAN'T.

You will not be writing my biography.Dead
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nixie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2017 at 9:56pm
Originally posted by Trond24 Trond24 wrote:

>>1000 words

200 words in - this is easy

550 words in - I know just what I am gonna do here

850 words in - OK, gotta actually introduce the crisis at some point

1150 words in - sh*t

lolyep
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