Less Is More: How Cutting Words Strengthens Your Picture Book
The KidLit Creator’s Chronicle – Issue #09
Picture book word count! This is a hot topic among many authors. Whether you love writing your story in just a few words, or hate it, it’s essential to writing a good picture book.
I’ve worked with many authors who started with picture book manuscripts that were 2,000 words or more, which is way beyond the acceptable word count. Most of them were concerned that they’d lose the heart of their story if they cut so many words. But as we worked through the process of reducing word count, they found it actually made their writing stronger and more interesting. Plus, they felt a huge sense of accomplishment seeing their story become tighter and more effective.
It’s important to understand that parents are usually the ones reading picture books aloud. A long story can take too much time or be tiring to read, especially at bedtime. Parents want something entertaining, but quick to read. By keeping your story short, you make the experience more enjoyable for kids and parents, increasing the chances that your book becomes a favourite that gets read again and again.
Cutting Words Is About More Than Just Hitting a Word Count
Picture books are unique because the words and illustrations tell the story together. If you describe every action, detail, or emotion, you’re not just adding extra words, you’re taking away opportunities for the illustrations to shine and for young readers to use their imaginations.
Cutting words isn’t just about hitting a low word count or fitting into the typical 500–700 word count. It’s about making your story clearer, strengthening the pacing, and ensuring that every word left on the page serves a purpose. When a story is too wordy, it can slow things down, overwhelm young readers, and take away from the book’s visual impact.
Think of it like this: trimming the excess doesn’t shrink your story, but takes away the nonessential, like a sculptor taking away everything that is not part of the sculpture. It gives it space to breathe, letting every word and every illustration carry real impact. A tighter, well-edited picture book doesn’t feel like something is missing; instead, it becomes stronger and more engaging.
Here are practical tips to tightening your picture book and making every word count while keeping your story intact.
Step 1: Start with Big Cuts
Before you focus on trimming words, or even sentences, tackle the bigger things first: entire scenes, characters, or events that don’t serve the core of your story. This is the quickest way to cut larger chunks of text, plus it will save you the effort of focusing on details, only to cut that whole chunk out after the fact.
- Remove unnecessary scenes: Does every scene move the plot forward or deepen the emotional arc? If not, cut it or merge it with another scene.
- Eliminate extra characters: Each character should serve a purpose. If someone isn’t advancing the plot or adding emotional depth, let them go.
- Cut events that don’t matter: If an event doesn’t contribute to the plot or the main theme or help resolve the conflict, it’s better left out.
Example: If your story is about a llama learning courage, that extra scene where they make a new friend might be cute, but if it doesn’t somehow contribute to the courage theme or story arc, you should cut it.
Step 2: Trim at the Sentence Level
Once the big cuts are done, it’s time to zero in on sentences and dialogue.
- Tighten dialogue: Picture book dialogue should feel natural but be concise. It shouldn’t contain fluff, filler words, preambles, or long explanations. Cut anything that doesn’t reveal more about who your character is or move the story forward.
- Trim redundant descriptions: Remember, illustrations will do a lot of the storytelling. If you’re describing what readers will already see in the pictures, cut it.
- Replace weak words: Swap out prepositional phrases and weak verbs for stronger, more active language.
Example: Instead of writing, “The rabbit ran quickly across the field,” try “The rabbit dashed across the field.” You’ve cut a word and made the action more vivid.
Step 3: Eliminate Filler Words
Filler words often creep in, but they don’t add any real value. Words like really, very, just, and actually tend to weaken sentences rather than strengthen them.
- Use the Find feature: In your word processor, search for common filler words and assess whether they’re necessary.
- Read sentences aloud: If the sentence works just as well without the extra word, cut it.
Example:
- Weak: “She was just about to open the door.”
- Stronger: “She opened the door.”
More filler words to check for and cut:
even, quite, rather, somewhat, somehow, fairly, that, absolutely, completely, down (e.g. in “sat down”), up (e.g. in “stood up”), honestly, truly, start (e.g. “he started to run” becomes “he ran”), he said/she said (when it’s already clear who is speaking).
Also check for “telling” words: felt, feel, though, think, wonder, pondered, realise, understood, saw, noticed, etc. These are telling when you should be showing: E.g. replace “Felt puzzled” with “Frowned” or “He wondered if it was really gone,” with “Was it really gone?”
Step 4: Walk the Plank Exercise
This is where you become ruthless. Evaluate your manuscript sentence by sentence, asking: Does this sentence change the story if it’s cut?
If the answer is no, cut it.
Or Does the story still make sense if I cut this?
If the answer is yes, cut it.
- Challenge every sentence: Only keep lines that add meaning, emotion, or advance the plot.
- Read it aloud: If a sentence sounds unnecessary or repetitive when spoken, it probably is.
Tip: If you’re unsure whether a sentence should stay, try cutting it and reading the manuscript without it. Does the story still flow and make sense? If yes, walk the plank and let it go!
Step 5: Trim after the illustrations
Once you receive your illustrations, go back through your text with fresh eyes. Often, you’ll find that some descriptions or actions are now redundant because the images say it all. Cut any words that simply repeat what’s already clear in the artwork. This final trim can really add the final polish, allowing the illustrations to do their job and making the story even stronger.
Takeaway: Cutting words isn’t about stripping your story bare, it’s about refining it until only the strongest, most essential parts remain. Every word should either push the story forward, deepen character development, or strengthen the emotional impact. When you’re done, your picture book will be tighter, clearer, and grip readers more.
Why Cutting Words Can Actually Unlock Creativity
At first, cutting words from your picture book might feel like a restriction, like you’re being forced to shrink your story. But cutting words doesn’t limit creativity, it enhances it.
When you cut unnecessary words, you’re making space for the real magic of picture books: the partnership between words and illustrations. Picture books are a visual medium as much as a text one. By cutting text, you invite your illustrator’s creativity and your readers’ imagination.
Think about how much can be conveyed in a single image: a character’s emotions, the setting’s atmosphere, or even an entire subplot. When you leave room for these visuals, your story becomes richer.
A spread from Olivia by Ian Falconer.
Cutting also forces you to be precise. Instead of describing a character as “really, really sad” (or even “miserable”), you might show them clutching a torn teddy bear or sitting under a rain cloud, letting the illustration do the work. This kind of visual storytelling is often more powerful than words alone.
Plus, fewer words encourage playful language choices. With a limited word count, every word has to carry weight, which often invites unexpected creative solutions.
In short, cutting words isn’t about doing less; it’s about making space for your story to do more with fewer words. It sharpens your storytelling, gives your illustrator freedom to contribute, and allows your readers to fill in the gaps with their own imaginations.
Seeing the Illustrations Can Change Everything
An author I worked with was confident that her manuscript was as tight as possible. Then, when she received her first round of illustrations, she had an “aha” moment that many of her text and descriptions were unnecessary. The illustrations already showed what she had written, making parts of the text redundant. She cut around another 200 words, making the book better! This is why it’s always helpful to review your manuscript again after illustrations come in.
Over to You!
Now it’s your turn! If you have a picture book manuscript, challenge yourself with the Walk the Plank exercise. Go through your story, sentence by sentence, and ask:
- Does this sentence need to be here?
- Can the illustration show this instead?
- Am I repeating something that’s already clear?
- If I cut this, will the story still make sense?
Be bold. Cut anything that doesn’t strengthen your story! Once you’ve done this, I’d love to hear how it went. Did you find it difficult or rewarding?
Comment and let me know!
Cutting words can be tough. It’s something just about every author struggles with at some point. But I promise, the more you practice, the easier it gets. Trimming down your manuscript doesn’t mean losing the heart of your story. It means making every word count.
Remember, some of the best picture books are the simplest ones. Trust your readers (and your illustrator!) to help bring your story to life.
