How to Cut 20% of Your Draft Without Losing Meaning
Kayla Madrid
Editing is one of the few things about writing that not many people are thrilled about. It can be called a few things: editing, revising, and drafting. It’s not easy. But what if there’s a way to make the process shorter without cutting important information? Well, there’s a way to do so! Within four steps, you can cut your draft down by 20% without losing the meaning of your piece. This is beneficial for several reasons:
- It keeps readers’ attention and doesn’t overwhelm them.
- It gets straight to the point and helps you organize your story better.
- It tightens the signal-to-noise ratio.
Remember The Original Meaning
The first step is to remember what the main idea of your story is. If you can find the purpose or meaning of the story, that will help make it easier to decide what moves the story along and what holds it back. Having a brainstorming session before drafting makes the process even smoother—just a little bonus to help with future work.
Should I Stay or Go?
After reconnecting with the meaning of the story, it’s time for selection. Go through each paragraph and figure out the meaning of that paragraph: what it is about, and how important it is to the entire story. If it goes along with the meaning of the story and holds importance, keep it. If it does not, toss it. If you feel like you won’t miss it, it’s better to let it go.
Maybe or Perhaps?
It’s completely okay if you’re not unsure about a section during the editing process. Sometimes there will be a part where it goes with the meaning but is not as important as other sections, or vice versa. If that’s the case, it would be best to make a “maybe” folder and leave those sections in there to come back to. It’s important not to accidentally cut something that turns out to be crucial to your story.
Clarity And Change
Most of the time, writers want to shorten their story due to having too many pages, having to meet a certain page requirement, or simply turning a draft into a final piece. Remember that the point of editing is to clarify what the entire piece is trying to tell readers. If you know what it is, the editing process will go by smoothly. You can also remember that if you take something out of your story but realize it is crucial later, then it’s okay to add it back in! The same is true regarding keeping a section in, but then looking back and removing it. As long as you’re eventually satisfied, then it will be okay.
Conclusion
Editing is a tedious type of work, and it’s okay to take as long as you need to edit your draft. Despite the long process it brings, it will prove to be beneficial for moving forward with your story. If you have the main idea of your story, have made some changes by keeping and removing sections, and feel satisfied with your work, then you have successfully shortened your story!
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