Metaphorical Writing Scissors…

I finished rewriting one of my short stories last night.
The original version clocked in under 2,000 words.
The new version hit 10,000 words.

I added characters, a more detailed description of the world and a more descriptive narrative. Overall, I think it made it a much more dramatic story, with a bit more depth.

But, I can’t help but feel I might have gone overboard.
I mean, I increased my output by 8,000 words.
Surely, some of that is unnecessary fluff. Surely.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I must draw my most hated tool in writing–the metaphorical scissors–and hack my story to pieces.

It’s a necessity. I know that.
I can’t have a story burdened down by needless words and paragraphs.
But, how do I decide what to cut?

Do I cut this paragraph, because it casts the main character in a bad light? Do I cut this section, because it does little more than establish a deep relationship between two characters–a concept already covered in earlier paragraphs to a lesser extent?

Do I just say “fuck it” and keep it all, assuming that it’s all necessary?
Actually, that sounds good.
Fuck it. It all stays.

3 thoughts on “Metaphorical Writing Scissors…

  1. No. I don’t really have any online, other than the excerpts I post here. That being said, I am just about ready to have people read the story this post is about.

    (One or two more edits away)

    I need people who I know will be honest with me, and have a good grasp on writing. Something, I believe you’d bring to the table. PM me on cX, USH or E-Mail me with the link on the left.

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