Creative Writing Tip

Early in my writing career, my daughter, Jennifer and I had just completed our first manuscript and we were so excited. A friend of Jennifer’s that had worked as an editor for a publishing company offered to read it and give us her opinion. Of course we were devastated when she told us to take out all of the unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. To make a long story short, we barricaded ourselves in Jennifer’s office for almost a week and when we were finished, we had cut out over one-thousand words. Every time I write, I remember those words and I’m so grateful for her honesty and advice.

The tip for today is: use as few “ly” words and adjectives as possible. Strengthen those verbs. Let your characters show their personalities through their actions.