Unlock the Secret Pitfalls That Sabotage Winning Writing Contest Entries—Are You Making These Fatal Errors?
Pro tip: Everyone needs something, too. Sometimes what they want and what they need aren’t the same thing. If your character achieves their goal, will that actually make them happy? Or will they have to deal with some unwanted consequences?
7. Cut excess words so you can focus on the story.
Are you 500 words over the limit and stumped about what to cut? Look for:
Backstory. Yes, you need to know everything about your character—but your readers don’t. It’s tempting to include every detail of their history that led them to this moment, but that will actually slow down your story and burden readers with unnecessary information. Get it all out on the page in the first draft. Then, as you edit, challenge yourself to cut as much backstory as possible. Pro tip: If there’s an important piece of information readers (and characters) need to know, use it as a surprising revelation to fuel the plot.
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