Editing Fiction: Step One of the Revision Process

The three great truths I have embraced this year - Write first edit later, read what you want to write, and don't be afraid to delete.

Revision opportunities begin with shortening the piece. Remove sections, sentences and characters if they don't move the story forward. Remove or shorten passages if you have allotted more space to the topic than you should have. Beautiful words are damaging if they don't support the work, no matter how long you labored.

Perform major chopping prior to other changes you will make, since you may end up deleting those changes. When looking for chances to tighten the words, look at flashbacks, monologues and lengthy descriptions. If you can find the description that really conveys your intention, it might have greater impact than a longer passage.

This is not to say you shouldn't use words - use the words you must - just don't use the words you mustn't.
Things you should consider revising: glanced briefly, few in number, disappear from sight, manner (The gorilla beat its chest in a menacing manner), in nature (This article, educational in nature…), type (This is not the type ofarticle…) and (educational-type article...), appears to, like a, seems to, seem to, as though, seemed like, seems as though, with a ( It landed on the deck with a thud), apparently, look as though, looks like, would appear that, more or less, both (Both Tom and Jim wanted the...), the development of, if and when, unless and until, in any shape or form, more preferable, continue to remain, perpetuate for all time, predict in advance, the reason is because, in regard to, despite the fact that, essentially, basically, ultimately and inevitably.

The idea is that if we look for redundant and unneeded expressions, we are likely to find ways to express our sentences more clearly. Trim verbosity and avoid writing about things that aren't relevant to the passage.
You should not use the same words, words with identical meanings, or similar sounds too close together, unless you are doing so intentionally.

Let a little time pass before revising a story. This helps you look at your work more objectively, and help keep you from reading things into the writing that aren't there.

Look for places where you draw attention to yourself (the writer), or to the writing itself. The reader is in the story. Anything that takes them out of the story is an interruption, and bad. Scrutinize parenthetical expressions (where you speak directly to them), moral lectures, "how to' sections and writing that is hard to follow. Research is crucial to give your story credibility, but use your knowledge of a topic as needed. Don't digress and try to give a lesson in it. If your have a strong opinion about something, don't drag it into you story unless it belongs there, and don't overdo it.

Choose your nouns and verbs carefully, so you don't need to explain them with adjectives and adverbs.
Modifiers are a part of the craft, but continual overuse of them will ruin your prose.

Use the word "suddenly" with care. Build tension by shortening sentences, not by inserting words. New writers often overuse the words: and, of and there, as in "There is … ." Avoid slow or weak passages by revising the sentence. Try to replace forms of "to be" with verbs that convey your intention.

Use the simplest word that will make the point. Use bulky over voluminous. Use contractions in cases where you are less formal, especially in dialog.

Now that you've reduced your piece to its essential intent, you can begin to work on the other aspects of revision.

Even if you don't always cut those extra poetic images, questioning the value of your words is a valuable part of the creative process, and may lead to new inspiration.