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Oh sure, you’ve heard “Trim the Fat” and “Cut,
Cut, Cut.” But what does that mean? Someone once told
me to pretend an editor is going to pay me one hundred dollars
for every word I cut. I ended up with “Once upon a time,
they lived happily ever after.”
So what’s fat? Does cutting mean: Here’s my character
- Here’s his problem - Here’s how he solved it?
BORING! Fat free white cheese on fat free white bread with fat
free mayo. No thanks, I’d rather starve.
Of course it doesn’t mean that. Here’s what I’ve
learned. You need to cut fat and add spice.
Let me explain. Start simply by writing the whole thing down.
Don’t summarize it or discuss it with anyone. Both will
cause you and your story to lose enthusiasm and momentum. And
don’t leave out a word. That is the most important first
step. You must give your ideas room to breathe, live and develop.
Then, reread it without stopping to fix punctuation, grammar
or anything. Make sure you’ve told a good story. Not great,
yet. Just good. Let your main character tell you if you’ve
been successful. Make the changes she tells you to make. She
knows best. It’s her story.
Now comes your part. The hard part. Remember, editing is like
dieting. You have to cut out the fudge brownies. You have to
give up the extra cheese.
Important Rule: Every word must develop the character and plot.
This does not mean cut out all the beautiful poetic language.
That’s the spice. But those spices MUST develop the character
and plot. Words that don’t are the fat. Don’t forget
your words also need rhythm. The words are the train and the
rhythm is the track. Sorry for mixing metaphors but together
they make up your story’s unique voice.
This is painful and it requires discipline. But in the morning,
you’ll be able to look in the mirror and be proud of the
great results.
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