Your Book doesn’t have to be Too Long to be Interesting: Ways to Compress your Manuscript!

One of the biggest misconception that people have on writing a book is that it has to be a long one. This is usually due to the fact that classic books were very long. And this caused many people to think that the longer a novel is the better it is. But in truth a truly good book does not always have to be a long one. It is the content of the book that is the most important. It is also the writer’s ability to convey the message of the story in the most efficient way possible. Here are some great book writing tips on how to compress your manuscript.

• Avoid obscure words

Using obscure words in your manuscript is good if it is a necessary part of your story. But if you are using them just to impress your readers, it is better to just avoid using them. This is because obscure words have a somewhat obscure definitions. And it takes a great amount of time to give its definition. Which is time and effort wasted on something that does not really affect the story. Which is why it is better that you avoid using obscure words and focus on the main storyline.

• Don’t make unnecessary characters

Great characters are what make a truly memorable story. Which is why it is important that you avoid making unnecessary characters. These characters are the ones that have no effect on the story. For example, you are writing a mystery novel. You already have a main cast of characters who act as the point of view. But as the story goes on you add more characters to the story so that the main cast has more people to interact with. Just remember that when you create a character, he or she must have an effect on the overall story.

• Avoid making overlong monologues

Monologues are usually very useful in writing a novel. They provide a way for the main character or antagonist to voice out on various subjects. This is a way for the author to make his points known. But sometimes monologues could take too much time and would ultimately lose the reader’s attention. So if you do write monologues for your characters make sure that they are quick and concise. That way they get to the heart of the matter without wasting the reader’s time.

• Ditch the adverbs

Adverbs are useful because they give attributes and characteristics to your writing. But you don’t really need to use them in every sentence. If you want to shorten your manuscript, it is advisable that you refrain from using adverbs.

• Refrain from using expositions

Expositions can be useful, if you write something cryptic in your story. But it can be annoying for readers if they have to read useless exposition every other page. So you should minimize your exposition. Give your readers the benefit of the doubt that they paid close attention, and you don’t have to explain every aspect of the book.

• Write forcefully

One way to shorten your manuscript, is writing short and concise sentences. Writing in a more forceful manner helps you avoid using weak words to make a sentence. For example instead of writing the phrase “He ran speedily towards the car, and He horrifyingly hit the door” But if you want to shorten it you can just write “He ran into the car” the effect is still the same and cuts the adverbs from the sentence.
All in all when it comes to shortening your manuscript just remember that the more concise and short your sentence is, the easier it will be to read.