Even though she’s only been mortal for a short while, Ronnie knows normal people don’t hear voices. She really wishes she was normal.
There’s something draining about writing intense scenes. At least to me there is. There’s something even more draining about writing them in first person. Once again, at least to me there is.
Though it does make me grateful I’m not the one hearing the voices.
And even though I’m supposed to be adding 20,000 words to this story, so far I’m down about 1,000. I know I’ve got a lot of space to grow toward the second half of the book, but I cut a whole chapter today.
I didn’t need it. It had to go. But why do I keep removing all this dead weight from a story that was finished months ago?
I need to stop feeding it donuts instead of salads. It’s getting thin. But at least it has some extra padding in sexy places after today’s round of revisions.
And I added a new character. She won’t play much of a role in this story. In fact, I don’t suspect she’ll be back at all. But she’s got a lot of potential in other books. I just figure, my hero (like actual Greek hero, not like main character) has been around for thousands of years, and tagged a lot of women, including his share of goddesses…he’s probably got at least one kid he doesn’t know about, right?
How do you fill in the spaces in your story when you have to cut out large chunks during revision?
(Ha! “Who’s your baby daddy?” “I think it was Aries, but I don’t know. We were both pretty drunk.” :))
I’m always depressed about cutting away dead wood, and then surprised when whole new subplots spring full-formed from the forehead of Zeus. Or, you know, my forehead. 😛
Often I find cutting energizes the actual writing–like it gets sluggish when you have to wade through extra stuff before you can get back to where you’re writing/revising. I don’t know why that is, but I sort of think it’s the same effect as physical decluttering–the sight of all that clear space gives you a kick.
Then, too, cutting out unneeded stuff gives you plenty of room to slip in world-building aspects (if you’re a fantasy writer). You obviously don’t want to do it in a chunk, but it does take some word count to convey the basics of your world.
Cutting out the dead weight often opens windows on whole new possibilities. I had an idea last night that makes so much sense to the book, but only if I clear out an entire subplot. So, out with the dried out old wood, and in with the fresh new leaves….
It’s so hard to cut chapters, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run. Someone once told me not to worry about word count because it’s the story that matters the most.
Usually all my major cuts are at the beginning of a book so it’s easier to let it go. I’ve never had to add stuff so I haven’t any good advice. I always have too many words.