A sculpture is already in the block of stone--the artist's work is to remove that which is not the finished product until only the figure remains.
Harder than it sounds, and I'm not even a sculptor.
It turns out that removing parts of the novel can be difficult. I'm finding that it's strangely easier to delete entire scenes than it is to merely trim something here or there. From this process, I understand why some directors release longer, extended versions of their films: they resent the cutting process that the studio makes necessary. Cutting is important--narrative flow is a thing, capturing and maintaining reader interest is a thing--but it's still damn difficult.
When the editor suggests a cut, it can be hard not to take it personally and think that she's telling me that my writing is awful and the less of it there is, the better. I'm sure editors lament to one another that these damn writers feel as if every single word of theirs is golden and sacred and the merest hint of removal would cause the edifice of the story to collapse.
It's also true that there's been somewhat of a trend recently towards "more is more" in fantasy and science fiction: huge epics of several hundred thousand words are in vogue, whereas the slim novel is a quaint throwback to a lesser time. But when you think of some of the great, seminal works, quite often they are brief and tight.
So, it is not without precedent that I sally forth and return to the surgery of improvement on my beloved child. This won't hurt a bit...
Be seeing you!
Harder than it sounds, and I'm not even a sculptor.
It turns out that removing parts of the novel can be difficult. I'm finding that it's strangely easier to delete entire scenes than it is to merely trim something here or there. From this process, I understand why some directors release longer, extended versions of their films: they resent the cutting process that the studio makes necessary. Cutting is important--narrative flow is a thing, capturing and maintaining reader interest is a thing--but it's still damn difficult.
When the editor suggests a cut, it can be hard not to take it personally and think that she's telling me that my writing is awful and the less of it there is, the better. I'm sure editors lament to one another that these damn writers feel as if every single word of theirs is golden and sacred and the merest hint of removal would cause the edifice of the story to collapse.
It's also true that there's been somewhat of a trend recently towards "more is more" in fantasy and science fiction: huge epics of several hundred thousand words are in vogue, whereas the slim novel is a quaint throwback to a lesser time. But when you think of some of the great, seminal works, quite often they are brief and tight.
So, it is not without precedent that I sally forth and return to the surgery of improvement on my beloved child. This won't hurt a bit...
Be seeing you!
RSS Feed