How to slash your word count… without changing a single scene

Yes, really.

It might sound too good to be true, but let’s talk about the beauty of line editing. I’m sure you’re already well acquainted with it (and how much it sucks), but I think people underestimate just how many words you can cut with a good line edit pass. I’m an over-writer, an over-describer, and all the things come along with that. I am not the world’s leading expert on this topic! That said, this week I got my manuscript from 107k to 100k without altering the plot at all. I didn’t cut any scenes. I didn’t even cut any paragraphs from any scenes. The place where I cut the most, my friends, is in and around the dialogue. It seems like you’re making tiny changes, but they add up fast. Trust me.

Please keep in mind: This is not in any way meant to be prescriptive. This is just intended to help anyone who might find their word count getting a little unwieldy. If cutting certain things messes with your writing style, don’t do it! It’s totally fine to make those stylistic choices. Take what you like, leave what you don’t! I definitely don’t abide by these suggestions all the time.

(FYI: All of these examples use the names of my characters from Seven Faceless Saints, but they are not taken from actual scenes in any of the books. I’m just out here making shit up.)

Without further ado, here are the main things I do to cut words:

1. Get rid of unnecessary dialogue tags. I’m brutal for this - I always have way more than I need. So much of my line editing is getting rid of them. They can be a great way to set the mood or establish characterization, but that can also be done with… the actual dialogue (this has been me @ing myself)!

Example: “Don’t bother,” she said, cracking her knuckles. “I get it.” 

Revise to: “Don’t bother.” She cracked her knuckles. “I get it.” 

Why? It’s definitely a stylistic choice, but if you want to break up that dialogue (you don’t have to!), you can rely on the action alone.

This becomes even more important when you’re working with a monologue or conversation. In a monologue, you probably don’t need as many pauses in your dialogue as you think you do! It’s always tempting to try and break it up by throwing an action in there every couple sentences or so. 

Example 2: “I wondered if that was the case,” Damian said, eyes downcast. “But that’s not the reason we came here. I know you’re worried about them—so am I.” He shifted his weight. “It’s just not something we should be focusing on right now.” Finally he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “You get that, right?” 

Revise to: “I wondered if that was the case, but that’s not the reason we came here. I know you’re worried about them—so am I. It’s just not something we should be focusing on right now.” Damian lifted his gaze to hers. “You get that, right?”  

Why? I know we don’t want anyone to feel like they’re reading a huge chunk of dialogue, but it can start to feel choppy and awkward when it’s broken up too much. It can also detract from the emotion!

Conversations are similar. It’s easy to want to add a dialogue tag to each character’s line, or an unnecessary character action (we’ll get to that!). Otherwise it can feel like your dialogue is just… floating there. But that’s okay!

Example 3:

“I’m not here to see you,” Roz said. “I came because—”

Damian coughed a laugh. “Don’t lie to me, Roz.”

She bristled. “I’m not.”

“You are,” he insisted.

There was a beat before she capitulated. “Fine,” she said. “Maybe I am.”

Revise to:

“I’m not here to see you. I came because—”

Damian coughed a laugh. “Don’t lie to me, Roz.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

There was a beat before she capitulated. “Fine. Maybe I am.”

Why? Again, too many interruptions can impact the flow of the conversation! Given the context, we can imagine how the characters are reacting without needing to be told. When Roz says “I’m not,” we can already imagine her bristling. When Damian responds, we know he’s insisting. There’s no need to say it!

2. Only 2 characters in the scene? Get rid of anything that describes who a character is talking to. These next few are simpler! One of my main problems is the tendency to have two characters alone in a room and yet constantly be clarifying who they’re addressing. This isn’t necessary, for obvious reasons! I end up cutting so many of these.

Example: “How can you be sure?” Damian demanded of Roz, and she frowned at him.

Revise to: “How can you be sure?” Damian demanded, and Roz frowned.

Why? If Roz is the only other person there, we know who Damian’s talking to! Likewise, we know who she’s frowning at!

3. Cut adverbs that explain a self-explanatory action. These are all just self-callouts at this point. I hate when people say “don’t use any adverbs”—I think that’s absurd—BUT I do find myself using a lot of redundant ones.

Example: “Just trust me,” Roz hissed quietly.

Revise to: “Just trust me,” Roz hissed. 

Why? It’s pretty much impossible to hiss not quietly, so you don’t need that qualifier. Simple as that! Some, however, might not be quite as obvious.

Example 2: Damian set his jaw stubbornly. 

Revise to: Damian set his jaw. 

Why? The average person will likely understand a set jaw indicates stubbornness. You can rely on the reader to make these inferences, especially when the rest of the conversation provides context.

4. Similarly, cut any actions you don’t need. We touched on this in the first example, since they tend to go hand-in-hand with dialogue tags. But while those can be stylistic choices, there are also actions that are straight up redundancies.

Example: Roz turned to look at Damian, holding his gaze. “Absolutely not.” 

Revise to:  Roz held Damian’s gaze. “Absolutely not.” 

Why? If she’s holding his gaze, she’s presumably already looking at him, right? I have my characters turning to do things/look at things WAY too often. Just have them doing the damn thing!

5. Cut your “that”s!!! Need I say more?

Example: She knew that there was something wrong by the darkness that now blanketed the room. 

Revise to: She knew there was something wrong by the darkness now blanketing the room. 

Why? There’s no need for it, and they tend to make sentences sound clunky. It’s wild how many unnecessary instances I find when revising. Same with “just.”

6. Cut unnecessary pronouns. It seems like the smallest thing, but they add up! I honestly find it so weird that both of these are correct.

Example: “I knew you’d be here,” Roz said, her mouth tightening. 

Revise to: “I knew you’d be here,” Roz said, mouth tightening. 

Alternatively: “I knew you’d be here.” Roz’s mouth tightened. 

Why? This is definitely a stylistic choice, but if you’re trying to cut words, take out some of those pronouns! OR, as in suggestion 1 above, take out the dialogue tag entirely and just rely on the action.

7. Change to active phrasing! At least for me, this usually means taking out a lot of instances of “was.” You want your actions to feel as immediate as possible, and you want your character to be the driving force. In other words, things shouldn’t just be happening to them—they should be doing things.

Example: Her lip was curled in disgust as the blade was pressed to her skin. 

Revise to: Her lip curled in disgust as the blade met her skin.  

Why? More propulsive writing, supports better characterization, and cuts down on word count! 

8. Cut unnecessary past tense words. I write in third past, so I realize all my examples are already in past tense. That said, just as in getting rid of those unnecessary “was”s, you can usually cut a lot of “had”s.

Example: She’d been desperate to see him since she had arrived in the city. 

Revise to: She’d been desperate to see him since arriving in the city. 

Why? More active phrasing, and reads more smoothly!

9. Get in your character’s head! I think a lot of people, myself included, tend to over-explain a character’s reactions and thought processes. But whether you’re writing in first or third person (or second, I suppose, though I would personally rather die), you’re writing from the perspective of that character. Don’t create too much distance if you can help it!

Example: Damian looked upset. Roz wondered if it was because of the way she’d spoken to him earlier. 

Revise to: Damian looked upset. Was it the way she’d spoken to him earlier? 

Example 2: Now that Damian was thinking about it, he knew it was the truth.

Revise to: Damian knew it was the truth. 

Why: In both instances, we’re already in the character’s heads, so we know they’re wondering/thinking! We don’t need to be told.

10. Cut the “almost”s, the “seemed”s, the “as if”s. Oh man, I’m so terrible for these. I also love to combine them into a monstrosity like, “It almost seemed as if…” and it’s often unnecessary!

Example: He shifted his weight, seeming as if he were uncomfortable. 

Revise to: He shifted his weight uncomfortably. 

Why? You’re the author—you don’t have to guess why a character is doing something! You’re allowed to know! (Again, this can be stylistic. If your POV is more removed, you might choose not to do this. Just remember you’re allowed to be decisive :)

OKAY, those are the main 10 things I look to cut when I’m line editing! Always be searching for redundancies. They might not be in relation to dialogue, either—that’s just where I find a lot of mine. Keep an eye out for descriptive passages with similar unnecessary info. For example, this sentence I pulled from my WIP said, “The fog moved in thin wisps through the air.” I could have just said, “The fog moved in thin wisps.” Obviously it’s in the air! 

Make sure you’re also cutting back on mental recaps. I tend to regurgitate too much of what I’ve already established because I have the worst memory as both a writer and reader. Apparently most readers are not as useless as me. I had a sentence that was something along the lines of, “Damian remembered what Roz had said back at the prison about [long-winded explanation of the thing she’d talked about].” I could have just said, “Damian remembered what Roz had said back at the prison.” The reader was there! They probably remember, even if I barely do! Remember, most people read far faster than we can write. A piece of information you wrote a month ago might be something they read half an hour ago. They don’t need an in-depth recap (again, this is directed at ME).

Hopefully this was useful! If I think of anything else, I will add it.

xo MK