Is the final count. I added some words back :-).
For the cuts, I targeted repetitions: information given in two separate chapters, unless there were key and revealing differences between viewpoints; information given in the narrative that was then covered in dialogue; bits of business that need occur only once, or if they needed to occur more than once to mark a pattern were occurring rather too often. If a scene had a clear narrative arc, then detours - food, recesses, etc - went. People eat a lot less! Half a chapter went, of food and a concert. I tried to reduce the number of very short paragraphs, whether in descriptions or in dialogue exchanges - this intended to drop the line count and hence the page count without necessarily requiring deletions of large numbers of words. "Erien?" "What?" kind of exchanges went, unless really required for the rhythm of a scene - wastes lines, adds nothing. The book is still too long, but I'm at the point of needing an external reader (ie an editor) to point out the bits that lag, the bits that sag, and the bits that baffle, and give us the order to murder our darlings (I heard this phrase from Tad Williams, though I'm not sure it originated from him). I love editors! There's only so much split-brain an author can do.
posted by Anonymous at 11:05   comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments