Trimming the Fat
I've just finished cutting my latest story from 30 thousand words down to 20k.
Now before you start applauding, please let me clarify a few things.
I did not cut those words out as some kind of challenge, to myself or others. I didn't need to trim it down to enter a contest.
I cut it down because when I read it, I realized it had a lot of unnecessarily self-serving language.
This was confirmed by a few friends who liked the story, but said they got lost in some of the descriptions and conversations.
My story was morbidly obese.
This is a common affliction among writers. Many times we are so pleased with a piece of dialogue, or the way we have created an atmosphere, that we are unaware that what we have written is bogged down with an excess of literary devices, repetition, and unnecessary banter.
I believe that's what "not being able to see the forest for the trees" actually means.
The thing is, if the reader finds it hard to find the plot inside your byzantine and brobdingnagian (yes i did that on purpose) language, they are going to lose the thread and interest.
You remember teachers telling you to use as many colourful and descriptive words as possible, and to put in lots of dialogue.
That's true to a point, but like many things in life, there is a law of diminishing returns. When things get too unwieldy they lose their effectiveness, and in the case of a story, their point.
It's not easy, this is your baby, and you hang on every brilliant word. But sometimes you need to go in there with a metaphorical scythe and cut down everything that stands in the way of a sharp, clear, effective tale.
So even though it hurts, when you start to edit, be discriminating. Is everything on that page adding to your story, or is it a distraction. Get the opinion of a few more sets of eyes if you are so lucky.
When you are done you will feel ten pounds lighter, and your readers will thank you.
