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Draft shortening editor

Paste your draft. Get it cut to 90% of its length, with a log of every cut and a story check.

Draft shortening editor is a free AI skill for the job "Write and tell stories". Give the instructions to an AI assistant that supports the required files and tools, then review its output.

Free · No account · Made by AI Blocks

What it does

Most first drafts run long. The writer explains twice, describes what the reader can see, and stays too long in a scene. The result feels puffy, and a puffy piece is easy to put down. A simple rule helps: the second draft should be the first draft minus about a tenth. This skill applies the rule with sums. It counts the words, sets the target at 90%, and cuts in passes, easiest first: needless words, then repeats, then obvious actions and stage directions, then back story the reader does not need, then scenes that pull away from the meaning. It also protects anything planted early for a later payoff. Every cut goes in a log, so you can undo any of them. If the piece will not give up a tenth, it names what is blocking it.

You give it

Your draft
The reading from the hidden theme finder (optional)
A word limit, if there is one (optional)
Parts you will not cut (optional)
Plan (optional)

You get

The draft at 90% of its length or less
A log of every cut by pass, with word counts
A list of planted details it kept
A story and voice check

Use it when

Your draft is done but feels slow.
Readers say it dragged in the middle.
You are over a word limit.

How to use it

Start a chat with the skill. Open it if you added it to your AI, or copy it and paste it in.
Paste the whole draft. For a long piece, give one chapter at a time and the target for each.
Add the theme plan so it knows what pulls away.
Read the log first. Restore anything you want back.
Run the story check by reading the opening and ending of the new draft.