Cutting

Today's one of those days... One of those days when I simply do not feel like sitting down and doing what needs to be done.

Why, you ask?

Because what needs to be done is the cutting of a scene I happen to greatly enjoy.

As I've said before, all writers are inherently editors as well. That means sometimes we have to make the tough decisions, for the good of our work. Like I always say, it's best to keep a copy of the original for your own purposes, but the book we share with people is the one they're going to know.

I think that's what makes cutting specific scenes so difficult.

Sometimes, as in the case of today, it's a beautiful scene that I deeply cherish... but it's not one that really moves the story forward.

That's why it needs to be cut.

And I truly wish that I could share this scene with all of you, because I believe you would greatly enjoy reading it. But again, it's not moving the story forward.

If you're not moving the story forward, you're either keeping it stagnant or moving it backward: two things that we all need to avoid in our writing. (and also how I tell when a scene needs to be cut)

To help you writers out there deal with cutting scenes (and to help myself, as I'm about to do it), here are five things to remember when you're editing, five things to help keep you in the right state of mind, five ways to deal with cutting that scene, so you'll be able to get back to work.

        1. To the story, cutting this scene is the equivalent of cutting the baggage and dead weight out of your life 

You know that terrible time you had in high school that just seems to weigh you down every time you think about it? That's what this scene is to your story. Even if the baggage in the story seems light in comparison to your incidents growing up, thinking about it in these terms helps us to remember that the dead weight needs to be cut off--both in our own lives, and in our work.

        2. If you don't cut it now, your editor will ask you to cut it

And it's only harder if you have to hear it from someone else. At least you'll be nice to yourself about it, won't you?

        3a. If it's a beautiful piece, remember the possibility that you'll be able to share it later on, as an excerpt that had to be cut from the book

It's something that a lot of writers do, really. If the book does really well when it's published, or your fans want a little more while you're working on the next in the series, you might be able to share these beautiful gems with your adoring audience (because, as we all know, audiences are adoring)

        3b. If it's a boring or exhaustingly traumatic scene, remember that you'll be sparing your reader the pain you went through to write it

I'm sure you recall how difficult it was to write this traumatic scene--or how exhausting it was to get all these boring words down onto paper. So remember, if it was difficult for you to write, it's probably going to be difficult for your reader to read.

        4. The scene will always be there for you, as a memory, so even your characters will never forget

This one mostly applies to those beautiful scenes, the ones that you don't want to forget. Because really, if you don't want to forget them, you probably won't. At least, until the point that you've written so many books that you simply cannot remember all of the beautiful scenes you've had to cut. But we'll try not to think about that time just yet.

        5. We, your fellow authors, are rooting for you, and we've been in your shoes many times before

All of us know what it's like to cut scenes. We do it time and time again. It may never get easier to do, but I find it helpful to know that there are always others I can go to and talk about the scenes I've had to cut--someone who has been there as well, time and time again.


[love]

{RD}