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cjburright's review
5.0
I was able to shed over 5,000 unnecessary words in my WIP through the techniques used in the Word-Loss Diet without changing any aspect of the plot. I learned I had several bad writing habits in need of nixing. I would recommend the Word-Loss Diet to anyone looking to decrease word count or tighten their writing. Rayne Hall is an excellent teacher and guides you step by step in finding the flab and cutting it.
deearr's review
5.0
I’ve worked to trim unnecessary words from the fiction I’ve written, and decided Author Rayne Hall’s book would be a good measure of what I had accomplished. I was unprepared for the amount of extraneous words that still inhabited the pages.
Ms. Hall’s book is a quick read, although following her direction will take time (how much time will depend upon the length of your work and how well you have previously edited). This is Editing 101, and using her tips will separate your work from countless other books and articles struggling to find their way to market.
I copied a chapter of my work and applied some of Ms. Hall’s ideas, and my first “Find and Replace” effort resulted in 10 instances. As I began to work through my manuscript, I caught myself reading and eliminating other words and phrases (it was as if some editing bug had bitten and infected me!). I stopped after applying two of Ms. Hall’s tips, satisfied that the process worked.
The back third of the book features two examples of the author’s work, and she includes the original word count versus the final tally. While the samples are helpful as demonstrations of slim writing, it might have been advantageous to include the original, unedited prose as before-and-after examples to compare.
Enabling other authors to cut the fat from their books is a wonderful gift, and Rayne Hall has given enough tips in “The Word-Loss Diet” to keep us all busy for a while. Recommended for all. Five stars.
Ms. Hall’s book is a quick read, although following her direction will take time (how much time will depend upon the length of your work and how well you have previously edited). This is Editing 101, and using her tips will separate your work from countless other books and articles struggling to find their way to market.
I copied a chapter of my work and applied some of Ms. Hall’s ideas, and my first “Find and Replace” effort resulted in 10 instances. As I began to work through my manuscript, I caught myself reading and eliminating other words and phrases (it was as if some editing bug had bitten and infected me!). I stopped after applying two of Ms. Hall’s tips, satisfied that the process worked.
The back third of the book features two examples of the author’s work, and she includes the original word count versus the final tally. While the samples are helpful as demonstrations of slim writing, it might have been advantageous to include the original, unedited prose as before-and-after examples to compare.
Enabling other authors to cut the fat from their books is a wonderful gift, and Rayne Hall has given enough tips in “The Word-Loss Diet” to keep us all busy for a while. Recommended for all. Five stars.
aimee70807's review
4.0
Having read this directly after her self-editing book, I found a lot of it repetitive (and a bit padded). But there were still some gems --- well worth a KU borrow.
anika's review
5.0
Unlike macros or online editing tools, this book provides examples to explain why something is unnecessary. I’ve always found it hard to trim my superfluous words because the tools I used never provided a full explanation. Following the exercises in chapters one and two of The Word Loss Diet for Writers my manuscript shrank by 700 words! I’m sure there will be further shrinkage once I finish working through the exercises.
This book covers redundant words, dialogue, barrier words, adjectives, adverbs, watery words, tautologies and tightening the plot. Although this book is targeted at novice writers I would recommend this book to any writer keen to tighten their writing. This is a fantastic tool for your arsenal.
This book covers redundant words, dialogue, barrier words, adjectives, adverbs, watery words, tautologies and tightening the plot. Although this book is targeted at novice writers I would recommend this book to any writer keen to tighten their writing. This is a fantastic tool for your arsenal.
jaironside's review
5.0
Read in one sitting and will definitely be going back through this. Simple and yet very effective ways to scale back wird count to what it needs to be. More importantly to give your writing a professional gloss and get rid of annoying habits you probably don't even realise you have. This will definitely help tone up that flabby WiP - it all seems obvious in retrospect but I don't think anyone else has explained it this concisely before. Highly recommend.
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