What to Leave Out of Your Writing

         We can all probably admit to being bored by a book at least once in our lives. When writing, it's important to keep your readers interested. Sometimes it isn't what you put into a novel but what you leave out that can keep the plot moving, and your audience engaged.
For instance, repeatedly describing what a character looks like can take away from the action of the story. It's difficult to omit these details when you have such a clear image of what your character looks like and you want your reader to see it too. However, the audience doesn't care if the character is wearing a blue shirt that matches their sky blue eyes, when they're about the stake a vampire or have their first kiss.

Seen here: Someone not stopping the action to talk about hair 

       Your audience is concerned with what's happening right now, and pausing the action to mention that your character tied their hair up into a bun isn't going to enhance the image, rather it will detract from it.
On that note, it is best to avoid excessive descriptions in general as those are likely to be distracting and tedious as well. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing the matter with describing your characters or setting but like everything, it's wise to keep it in moderation.
To make your lines unique, leave out clichés such as: "as luck would have it," "blind leading the blind" and "deafening silence." Avoiding clichés will also ensure that each turn of phrase your reader comes across is new. Cliches are boring and will cause readers to lose interest in what you're saying since it's all been said before.
Creating fresh plots while still giving your readers what they expect from the genre is difficult. In order to do this, it is necessary for the writer to be familiar with their genre of choice and its conventions. One way to play with genre conventions would be to leave out frequently done tropes such as the ol' "I'm a broody attractive male with virtually no other discernable character traits; All girls (or at least the main female protagonist) in the book must swoon," as seen in books such as: "Twilight," "Maximum Ride" and "Hush hush." This is one of many common tropes that could easily be left out of your plot.

Yes ladies, he was sent from Heaven, *wink*

Finally, the page is no place to preach. Readers generally pick up a novel with the intention of reading a cool story. When they find obvious political, social and religions opinions spewed about and the main characters becoming nothing more than mouthpieces for the author's rant, the piece becomes obnoxious as well as boring. As Jack Heath said in his article, The Seven Things to Leave Out of Your Book; "be aware that you'll alienate the two-thirds of the world who don't share your beliefs." Of course it's important, maybe even necessary to write about issues that are close to your heart but that doesn't mean you have to shove your ideals in anyone's face. Subtlety is key.