My Passion's Pen

A couple of weeks ago, I received feedback for my first round entry in the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge (NYCM). 

While my critique from the judges focused on a couple of minor plot hiccups, many of the other competitors received this comment:

“The best advice I can give you is to always strive to keep your writing as tight as you can get it. Cut out as many unnecessary words as you can and when you think you can’t cut any more, start over. Always try to paint a picture with your words.”

This comment spurred a conversation on the competition’s forum. Many writers, including myself, discussed strategies for eliminating the fluff from our work to make it as tight and vivid as possible.

Today, I’d like to share some of those strategies with you. It’s important to know how to cut the s–hit the delete button and remove unnecessary words from your work…