Featured Post

Enter my Get Followers Giveaway and win a copy of DOUBLE PLAY

I'm so close to 1000 followers on Twitter! Follow, enter here, and tweet about it to win a copy after I get 1000 followers! a Raffle...

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

That just CUTS me!

I'm one of those people who hates giving up scenes, especially the ones that have that one witty comment, or the MC and her love interest share that brief look.... Still when your MS starts climbing over 90k (and 85k is supposedly the sweet spot of your genre), it's time to say goodbye! Even if you're under the target word count, you still need to take a look at each of your scenes with a fine-tooth comb. As Kris P. told me, read each scene separately and ask what it does to the book: slow or keep pace, advance the plot? If you can't find a good reason to keep it (besides that sweet kissing scene), it needs to go. :)
Still, I had a hard time--until I started reading aloud to my husband. It was easy to tell which scenes weren't keeping his interest, slowed the pace, or just plain held fun and interesting, yet unnecessary information. (I'd actually recommend reading it to someone outside your target audience, too. When you read a novel meant for 15 year-old-girls to a 28 year-old guy, you can really polish it up!)
Good luck!

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me!

I've been writing since I was old enough to grasp a crayon--my grandma even has an early copy of a "book" I made her. I have a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Wyoming and will (hopefully) soon be starting a graduate program in English. When I'm not breaking up impromptu UFC fights in the living room or losing miserably to my boys at Uno, I'm ... well, writing or editing, of course! I'm married to my best friend, and we have three rambunctious but simply amazing little boys.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...