Culling Those Much-Loved Words

By Marilyn Forsyth

I recently faced the massive problem of having to cull my medieval/contemporary timeslip manuscript by 45K words. 😟 I’d spent over a year writing 140K words, only to be told by the two editors and an agent I pitched to at the RWA conference that it had to be cut to 90-95K words before sending it to them.

That was, like, one-third of my story!!!

The good news is, I did it. (Yay me!)

Image courtesy of giphy

Here’s how:

1. First, I looked at choices for removing huge chunks of the story. Could I take out whole chapters, whole subplots, whole point-of-view characters?

I found I was able to remove two chapters that, though fascinating from a historical point of view, were not strictly needed to move the plot forward.

Image courtesy of giphy

Did it hurt? 

Like a punch to the heart! 

I loved writing those chapters.

2. Next, I went scene by scene to decide if each one was really necessary. Did it up the stakes, or show character development, or move the story forward?

This was tough, but also enlightening. I changed a heap of scene beginnings to start at a later point (while still managing to keep the hooks 😇).

Did it hurt? Hell, yeah! I loved those scenes.

3. My next task was to examine the dialogue and introspection. Had I repeated conversations, thoughts and actions?

Image courtesy of giphy

Why, yes, I had...and way too many times. 

I ended up cutting and/or combining a ton of each of these. And while I was at it, I noticed some descriptions of characters and settings were worded very similarly, so I did a search for keywords and either deleted or changed the descriptions (shortening them at the same time).

Did it hurt? Did it what! That dialogue was sparkling, those descriptions were captivating.😉

4. By this time, I was down to reduced to removing individual words. Yes, folks, that’s what it came down to.

Image Author's own

I’ve been writing long enough to know that really, very, just, that, and so are my favourite filler words, but a run through of each chapter on Autocrit brought up some other interesting overused words (eyes, hands, now - needless to say, more editing was required).









Did it hurt? Nope. Those fillers have no place in my writing.

I finally reached my goal of 95K words (after several months’ working on it) but, with all the deletions, I had to check that my plot points still occurred in the right place (to my delight - and amazement - they did), and then reread to make sure my story made sense. (I'm happy with it, but if there are any beta readers out there who’d like to offer their services, I'm up for honest feedback.😜)

This image (courtesy of giphy) has nothing to do with the post and is unashamedly gratuitous.

But let's get back to this post...

Wouldn’t it be great if culling was as simple as deleting words and leaving it at that? Unfortunately, it’s not. But what I’ve learned is that, after so many changes have been made, the most important thing is to ensure your story still hangs together. That there are no loose ends. That your story is still worth telling.

That the threads of your story weave a tale that is worthy of the reader, because that is what we all strive for.

Have you ever had to cull a story you loved writing? How did you go about it?

Love to Love the DIY writing retreat my crit partners and I undertook in February. The weather was pretty conducive to writing.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Love to Laugh when reminiscing about the past. Had so much fun catching up with old school buddies last week!

Love to Learn the inspiration behind Beth O’Leary’s The Flat Share. You can watch her interview at https://myvlf.com/theatre-hall (click Watch Now when you get there). Myvlf is a fabulous website for authors and readers alike.

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The Last Post: Completing Your Manuscript

with Dee Scully

The Last Post is traditionally a bugle call signalling the end of the day but over the years it has become better known as a farewell to departed servicemen and women. As writers we have no such farewell for our manuscripts. Often it’s difficult to know just when a manuscript is finished; so how do we know when to call it a day, to stop polishing and submit the work and move on to the next manuscript? What is our Last Post?

Breathless’s own Cassandra Samuels, author of A Scandalous Wager, doesn’t feel she’s ever ready to let go. “I know I always feel I can do more…but eventually you have to look at it and say to yourself [that] you have done the best you can with it and now it is time to let some fresh eyes see it. That’s when I send it to my editor."

Multi-published author Nikki Logan says much the same. “I don’t think you’re ever ‘done’ revising. Polishing. Tweaking. Second-guessing. Angsting. After a few books, you come to realise the signs of over-working—not necessarily in the finished product but in your own processes. If I catch myself spending a whole day on a single scene in the final stages of editing I know I’m going too far. That late in the process I should just be flying through the work, buffing a few rough edges. Not reworking.”

Alli Sinclair, author of Under the Spanish Stars and the May 2017 release, Beneath the Parisian Skies, agrees with Cassandra and Nikki. “I’m a perfectionist. In my eyes, a book is never completely finished. There will always be something I want to change, so I’ve had to learn to let go.” 

Alli suggests using the following three-point checklist:

*Have I done structural and copy edits to the best of my ability?

*Have I given it one last read through to make sure it holds together and there are no dangling thread storylines?

*If I read it again, will I vomit? (This is a very big sign that I have read and reread and revised so much that I just can’t stand the sight of it anymore!)

But what is our Reveille, our Last Post, the one thing to tell us our manuscript is ready to submit for publication? All our authors agreed, our Last Post is tweaking. If you’ve structurally edited your story, revised the copy, and made sure there are no plot-holes, then you’re done. If you tweak much more you run the risk of tweaking your voice right out of the manuscript. So, if you’ve done all the above and are just tweaking, stop and heed your writer’s bugle call. The day is done. Your manuscript is finished. Time to submit and move on.

How do you know when your manuscript is ready to submit?

I love to love:  our servicemen and women.  I have them to thank for my freedom.

I love to laugh:  at my iPhone's autocorrect.  Does it really think I don't know how to spell duck?

I love to learn:  new things about writing.  It helps me grow as a writer and as a human being.

Sadly, this will be Dee's last post for Breathless in the Bush. We have loved having her as part of our team and hope to welcome her back at some time in the future. We're sure all her loyal supporters will miss her as much as we will. We wish you well, Dee, and a heart-felt thank you for all you have done for us. xx