10 'Cut the Shit' Writing Tips You Probably Don't Want To Hear
Write like you mean it, then cut half.
Your first draft is always bloated with words you thought sounded good in the moment. Get it all down, then grab the knife. Half of it is throat-clearing. The guts will still be there after you trim.
Verbs carry the weight, make them strong.
"He walked slowly across the room" is nothing compared to "He dragged himself across the room." Strong verbs do the heavy lifting so you don't need adverbs tap-dancing behind them.
Adjectives are seasoning, not the meal.
Pile on too many and you smother the meat. Use a few sharp, precise ones that bite. "A chipped coffee mug," tells you more than "a small, old, dirty, white coffee mug."
Dialogue = tension + subtext, not small talk.
No one cares about the weather unless it's hiding something bigger. Characters talk to dodge, deflect, provoke, seduce, or wound. Strip it down to what hurts or reveals.
Description needs teeth, anchor it in real objects.
Skip the floaty, vague mood-setting. Give me the cracked leather chair, the chipped countertop, the cigarette burn in the rug. Readers need something they can see, smell, or touch.
Kill your crutch words.
Just, still, really, that, very. They're dead weight. Once you spot them, you'll see them everywhere. Slice them the fuck out. Your sentences will stand straighter without the crutches.
If it doesn't serve plot, character or mood, it's dead weight.
That page you love about the rainstorm? If it doesn't push the story or reveal who your character is, it's a pretty corpse. Bury it in a notes file, not your draft.
Swearing is spice: use it to sting, not smother.
A well-placed "fuck" cuts sharper than a dozen lazy ones. Overdo it and it's background noise. Swear when it hits like a slap, not when you're board.
Every sentence should earn rent on the page.
Ask yourself: doe this line move the story, reveal character, or nail the atmosphere? If not, it's squatting. Evict it.
Stop polishing the first chapter forever. FINISH THE DAMN STORY.
The beginning only makes sense once you know the ending. Draft messy, ugly, imperfect. Get to the last page before you circle back. Otherwise, you're just rearranging deck chairs on a ship that hasn't left the harbor.
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