Eliminate unnecessary modifiers by deleting adjectives that are sapping the strength of nouns and verbs. Words such as "really," "pretty" and "very" are among the most useless modifiers in the English language; unfortunately, these words are also the most commonly used adjectives used in the language. Further eliminate unnecessary adverbs, especially those that end in "ly," which can take away the strength of your verbs, such as in "he ran amazingly fast" --- it is far more economical just to say "he ran fast." Remove these modifiers if they are not serving the purpose. For example, "the red balloon" needs the modifier --- but "the fluffy, red balloon" may be a bit too abstract with the "fluffy" modifier.
Eliminate redundant phrasing by removing words in a sentence that make the same point. A common pratfall for writers, amateur and professional, is to overemphasize a point by saying it twice --- and not being aware that they are saying it twice. This happens when the writer incorporates everyday expressions into his writing, such as terms like "actual experience" --- just saying "experience" is enough. Another example is "basic fundamentals" --- these two words have the same meaning, so "fundamentals" can stand on its own.
Revise any passage made up of flowery language into more definitive language. It is far more complicated to say "I proceeded to remove the excess refuse from the waste receptacle" than to say "I emptied the trash." Keep your sentences simple, using as few words as necessary to make your point. Avoid assuming the reader won't understand your prose, though you can assume he doesn't want read your sentence twice to understand the point.
Avoid over-explaining a situation or feeling by removing explanatory verbs from attributions --- let the dialogue explain the feeling or situation. For example, instead of saying "she consoled" or "he purported," use the simple and most understood form of attribute: "she said" or "he said." The reader will understand who is speaking by using this simplified form so long as you limit unorthodox spellings and tricky linguistics in dialogue passages. While it is true that writers should primarily create dialogue based on how people speak --- too much busy dialogue will turn into wordiness.
Revise passive voice into the active voice. Writing in the passive voice typically takes more words to make the point and is also less engaging for the reader. Thus, revise a passive sentence such as this, "I was standing in a shoe store when I was listening to the recording" to the active voice of "I listened to the record in a shoe store."