The brownies, cakes, and French fries have finally caught up with me. My scale is groaning. My jeans are expanding And my chin is now a twin. I wish I could hit delete and get rid of the excess.

Sadly, it doesn't work that way. I have to read labels, exercise and cut calories to get my body into shape. And I need a support group.

What does any of this have to do with writing? If your subs keep boomeranging back to your mailbox, you may have a "weighty" problem. Are your stories bulging with excess adverbs and dull descriptions? Are your first paragraphs flabby and middle sections sagging? Do your endings need firming up? Try these healthy writing tips to get your manuscript in better shape and back in the hands of editors.

Read the labels

Study their "label"- their table of contents. If you haven't done your homework, it will show. If writing for a magazine, find out what they want and don't want. Do they print more fiction or non-fiction? Do they like rhymed or free verse poetry? Haiku? Nonsense poetry? First person stories or third person? Magazines like Highlights for Children list their current needs on their website and publishing houses, such as Sylvan Dell, will list their needs on writers' message boards such as Verla Kay's magnificent board.

Why do research? Imagine sending a 1,500 word stories to a magazine that only accepts stories under 500 words or sending rhyming alien stories to magazines that only want biographies on our presidents! They will probably go unread, the editor may tire of seeing your name, and you'll get a nicely worded letter stating, "Have you even looked at our guidelines? Please refrain from submitting to us until you are able to follow directions!" (Okay, it might not be worded as nicely as that, but you get the idea!) Follow their submission guidelines and read interviews with the editors of the company you're researching. It will make a difference.

Exercise and cutting calories

Highlight. Delete. Highlight. Delete. Repeat. Eliminate the extraneous passages that don't do anything but take up space. Dispose of information dumps. Obliterate the boring first paragraph (or three) and get to the heart of the story. Delete is your friend. Exercise your right to use it.

Ex: Judy looked in the mirror and noticed how her white-blonde curls fell nicely around her sun-tanned shoulders. She wondered if she looked exactly like her mom or if she looked like her dad. Folks just automatically assumed Jim and Sue were her biological parents. No one could tell. Judy shrugged off the thought and readied for her tennis lesson. Every day for the last 3 years, she'd gone to play with Georges. His temper enraged her, but his skills on the court were undefeated.

WOW. Judy is blonde, tan, lives with folks who are NOT her biological parents, plays tennis, and has some sort of relationship with a fella named Georges. We find out this info in 6 lines and in less than 83 words. TOO much, too soon. It's good to sprinkle the info throughout the story in the form of dialogue and action. Much like dessert -- " too much at one time is bad for your body. Too much info at one time (info dump) is bad for your your story, too.

Contractions: use as often as possible. You'll cut a few words here, a few words there. However, most publishers (especially magazine publishers) stick to their maximum word count -- so every word counts. And remember: editors like it when we follow their rules.

Ex: Do not sit on the chair that belongs to Sarah. It is broken and I have to fix it before it is too dark to work. 26 words

Ex: Don't sit on Sarah's chair. It's broken! I have to fix it before it's too dark to work. 18 words

Do you really need that "ly" word? Like doughnuts, adverbs are fabulous, but only in moderation.

Example 1: "I love you," he whispered quietly. Whispers are quiet, right? You don't need "quietly."

Example 2: "You stepped on my foot!" he yelled loudly. Yells are loud, delete "loudly."

He said, she said: Depending on the way the dialogue is presented, you may not need the tag line at all. Give your reader some credit. You don't have to explain who is speaking each time there is dialogue. If there are only two people in the scene and you have established good dialogue, cut out some of the taglines.

Too many taglines: 60 words

Revised: 50 words

The revised version is leaner and packs more a punch! Go through your story and see how many taglines you can delete. You'll feel lighter and so will your story!

Check for "filler" words. A really, very easy way to tell if you are using somewhat unnecessary words is to rewrite your sentences without them. If the sentences are stronger, you might want to possibly consider leaving out the extra words.

** Leaner version -- An easy way to tell if you are using unnecessary words is to rewrite your sentences without them. If the sentences are stronger, leave them out.

Spice it up

Break out of your rut! Unearth your thesaurus and peruse the pages. Use the words that best depict your characters and illustrate your settings. Spice up your submission and make it sizzle!

Example: "He ran across the finish line." Replace the word "ran." He dashed! He darted! He sprinted! He scurried! Any of those synonyms gives the reader a better sense of HOW he finished the race.

Admit when you need help

Call on your support team. Find writing partners who will tell you what is working and what isn't. They'll help find the extra fat. They are your scales. They'll tell the truth -- but it's still up to you to get rid of the "junk in your trunk."

Whether it's on our hips or in our manuscripts, we all have "excess". Maybe, like me, you need to work on both. If so, grab your barbells, find the delete button and attack that bulge!