Revision Strategies: How to Cut 20,000 Words Without Losing Story

When Cutting Is Creating

Your first draft is 120,000 words. Your target is 80,000. Somehow, you need to remove 40,000 words—an entire novella—without destroying the story you spent months or years building.

It sounds impossible. It isn’t. In fact, this kind of revision often transforms bloated manuscripts into focused, powerful novels. What you cut matters less than what remains—and what remains, once trimmed, shines.

Before You Cut: Diagnostic Reading

Don’t start cutting randomly. First, understand where the excess lives.

The Scene-by-Scene Audit

Create a spreadsheet with every scene. For each, note:

• Word count
• POV character
• What happens (plot function)
• What changes (character arc function)
• What readers learn that they couldn’t learn elsewhere

Scenes that don’t advance plot, character, or provide essential information are candidates for cutting. Scenes that do multiple things earn their keep.

The Redundancy Check

Look for scenes that accomplish the same thing:

• Multiple conversations establishing the same character trait
• Several scenes showing the protagonist’s fear before they finally act
• Repeated conflicts with the same dynamic and outcome

Keep the strongest version; cut the rest. The reader needs to see something once—powerfully—not three times adequately.

The Big Cuts: Scenes and Subplots

Cutting Entire Scenes

The fastest way to hit your word count: remove complete scenes. Each cut scene might save 2,000-3,000 words.

Ask of each scene:

• If I remove this, what do readers lose?
• Can that essential information be delivered elsewhere?
• Does the story still work without it?

Often, scenes feel essential only because they exist. Remove them and readers won’t notice the absence—they’ll just experience a faster-moving story.

Cutting Subplots

Subplots that don’t connect to your central story are often the biggest source of bloat. The romance that never affects the main plot. The work conflict that exists in isolation. The mysterious neighbor who never becomes important.

For each subplot, ask: Does this illuminate my protagonist’s central journey? Does it create obstacles or opportunities for the main plot? Does it deepen theme?

If a subplot exists only for “texture” or because it’s interesting in isolation, consider cutting it entirely. This can save thousands of words while actually improving focus.

Cutting Characters

Do you have characters who could be combined? Three friends who serve similar functions could become one friend with more depth. Two antagonists could become one with more screen time.

Fewer characters means more development for each—and fewer scenes needed to service them all.

The Medium Cuts: Chapters and Sequences

The Late Start

Many novels start too early. The first three chapters are setup for the story that really begins in chapter four. Consider whether your actual story starts later than you thought.

If you can cut your first one to three chapters and open closer to the inciting incident, you may solve much of your word count problem immediately.

Compression

Some sequences take too long. A chase that spans three chapters could happen in one. A three-day journey could become a day with a summary transition. A week of investigation could become a montage.

Look for sequences that feel slow. Ask: What’s the minimum number of scenes needed to accomplish this story beat?

Offstage Events

Not everything needs to happen on the page. Events that don’t involve your POV character’s growth can sometimes be summarized: “By Thursday, the police had identified three suspects.” We don’t need to see the investigative process if it’s not our protagonist’s investigation.

The Small Cuts: Line-Level Revision

After the big structural cuts, go through line by line. This is tedious but powerful—and it teaches you to write tighter from the start.

Adverbs

Search your document for “ly” words. Most adverbs can be cut. “She ran quickly” becomes “she ran”—or better, “she sprinted.”

Stage Direction

Do we need to see every physical movement? “He walked to the window, looked outside, turned back, walked to his desk, sat down, and opened the drawer” can usually become “He looked out the window, then checked his desk drawer.”

Over-Explanation

Trust readers to infer. If a character slams a door, you don’t need to add “angrily.” If someone is crying at a funeral, you don’t need to explain why.

Throat-Clearing

The first sentence of paragraphs and scenes often warm up before getting to the point. “She wondered what he was thinking. It seemed like he had something on his mind. Finally, he spoke.” Cut to: “He spoke.”

Dialogue Fat

Real conversations include pleasantries. Fictional conversations should cut them. “Hi, how are you, I’m fine, want some coffee, sure, milk and sugar, just black” can become a scene that starts mid-conversation.

That

Search for “that.” Half of them can be cut. “She knew that he was lying” becomes “She knew he was lying.”

Just, Really, Very

These intensifiers usually weaken rather than strengthen. Cut most of them. “She was really very tired” becomes “She was exhausted.”

What to Preserve

Not all words are equal. As you cut, protect:

• Specific, vivid details: These are often what makes your writing memorable
• Emotional beats: Rushing through feelings to hit word count creates cold, distant prose
• Essential setup: Elements that pay off later must remain
• Voice: The distinctive rhythms and word choices that make your prose yours

The Revision Process

First Pass: Structural

Cut scenes, subplots, and characters. This is where the big word savings live.

Second Pass: Chapter Level

Compress sequences, cut slow passages, combine scenes where possible.

Third Pass: Line Level

The word-by-word hunt for fat. Use search functions for common offenders.

Fourth Pass: Read Fresh

Set the manuscript aside for a few days, then read it as a reader. Where does your attention wander? That’s where more cutting is needed.

Mindset Shifts

Everything You Cut Still Happened

The scenes you remove aren’t erased from your story’s universe—they just happen offstage. Your protagonist still had that conversation; readers just don’t witness it. This mental reframe makes cutting easier.

Save Everything

Keep a “deleted scenes” document. Knowing you haven’t destroyed your work makes cutting psychologically easier—and occasionally you’ll find a use for something later.

Less Is Often More

Many manuscripts improve dramatically when shortened. Readers get the same story faster, tighter, with more momentum. What feels like sacrifice is often enhancement.

The Numbers

If you need to cut 20,000 words:

• Cut 5-7 unnecessary scenes: 10,000-15,000 words
• Cut or compress one subplot: 3,000-5,000 words
• Line-level cuts (roughly 10%): 8,000-10,000 words

The math works. The question is courage—the willingness to kill your darlings in service of the story.

The book that remains after brutal revision is almost always better than what you started with. Trust the process, make the cuts, and watch your manuscript transform.