Inventing Reality: A Guide to Writing Science Fiction

Tight writing is using the minimum number of words necessary to convey an idea or to describe an event. Writing tightly allows your text to be punchier and for the plot to move more quickly. At the very least, tight writing reduces your word count, allowing you to spend more words on text that truly advances your story’s or builds dramatic tension.

Here’s a list of common expressions , which I’ve run into during my years of editing, that should be tightened.

“a blonde girl”

Just write “blonde”; a male with light-colored hair is “blond” (no “e”)

“knelt down”

Just write “knelt”; the act of kneeling implies one is going downward

“nods his head up and down”

Just write “nods”; this gesture alone indicates the head is moving up and down

“nods yes” or “nods to the affirmative”

Just write “nods”; this gesture alone means “yes” or indicates agreement

“shakes his head no” or “shakes his head to the negative”

Just write “shakes his head”; this gesture alone means “no” or indicates disagreement

“stood up”

Just write “stood”; the act of standing implies one is rising

“the two of us”

Just write “we”

“they both”; “we both”

Just write “we” or “they”; the pronoun already implies both characters

“was nodding”

Just write “nodded”; see entry on active vs. passive voice

“were wearing”

Just write “wore”; see entry on active vs. passive voice

“with a smile on her face”

Just write “with a smile”; a smile couldn’t be anywhere else but on a face (unless we’re talking alien life forms)