StoryMash Creative Storytelling Forum

This forum seems so dead. I thought I'd try to get it going. In my own way.

So, how do you (general you, whomever is reading) trim a story down to meet word count? I normally have to beef it up, and so I'm curious about the reverse process.

I tend to read through a story several times looking for something different to cut each read. I've even gone so far as to read passages aloud. Then shuddering, I delete extraneous words and phrases (sometimes whole paragraphs)that don't add to the piece.
I have had editors ask me to "beef up" pieces and it is more challenging to me than trimming.

Interesting. I usually feel most of what I put in adds to the story. It hurts to trim.

But that's a good technique. I'll keep that in mind.

Another perspective:

Think of a story as sculpture. There are two basic methods to create a scultpure. Either you can construct a piece from objects or masses (scenes, characters, lines of dialogue), adding more until you reach the final product; or you can carve away at a block of stone/clay/ice/wood until you reach your desired destination. All pieces have to start with the building process - you have to make sure you have the right characters for your plot. Establish them, put together your framework. Pack on more substance until you have your story told, whatever amount that entails. Tell your story. If it won't fit with a particular contest, you have two options. Tell another story that might, or pare it down. If you're limited to 500 words and you write 3,000, you probably want a different contest. Sometimes, instead of cutting and cutting, it's best to amputate the head of a statue and concentrate on only it's facial features. Was the body - the torso/legs/base important? Sure. But you have a great story (that fits the word limit) dealing with the face.

All stories should have some cutting/sanding/buffing/trimming before they're published. There are words that don't help. Redundancies. Extranneous events that might be nice in director's cuts of movies, but that don't make the final revision. Lines that sound wonderful, but don't contribute to the action. There's always something to trim. And something to add. And trim. The true skill of an artist is knowing when you have the final product.

In here, self-contained, full stories in one chapter are rare, so word count isn't as important. Focus on your story and write well.

I always have so much to say that I have to cut back just to fit the charater guidelines...well not always....sometimes, I post a chapter in 2 parts! LOL I think my problem is that I want the reader to feel everything I am feeling in my writing, and I tend to push that onto them with words, rather than allowing them to find the emotions for themselves.

Less is more. Generally, when you go back to edit a story, you should be subtracting more than you add. I tend to think in terms of creating films. The original film tends to have a lot of scenes that end up on the cutting room floor after the director goes through the entire movie and takes out what doesn't help the movie flow or in some way takes away from what he's trying to do as a film maker in a particular film. Generally, they don't haul the cast in to film another scene. The same is true for writing. When you edit, only add if it's necessary. You may love a backstory for a character, but if it isn't necessary to tell the story, then it must go.

As for word count, I don't submit shorts to contests, so it's not something I aim for, but usually if you go back and take a lot of junk out, you can trim it down considerably. If it's still too long, start taking out as much passive voice as possible and replace it with direct, declarative sentences. Not only does it improve the story, but the impact of a few words can be more effective than a long, drawn out sentence.

I think you shouldn't have to worry to much about trimming here. Just leave off where you feel makes the most sense and hopefully someone else will expand upon it. Or just post the next part under the pretense of a part 2. We are just supposed to just post so called 'chapters' right?