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Many new writers, myself definitely included, want to put every relevant thought we have into our story. If I can't fit it now, I make a note to include it later. The result is a bombing run of info dumps.
Nothing aids & abets this mania like the computer. JG Ballard wrote:
“I do a lot of book reviewing, and although I've never used a PC, I'm absolutely certain that I can tell the difference between books that are written on PCs and those that are not. Books written on the PC have high definition in the sense of line-by-line editing, grammar, sentence construction and the like. But the overall narrative construction is haywire. There's a tendency to go on and on and on, in a sort of logorrhea, and to lose one's grasp of the overall contents.“
Damned computers! Mine stores catagorized notes going back years. Even thinking about deleting all those files is like an addict thinking about voluntarily flushing his crack. You'd have to be high to contemplate that!
Still, I want to leave out parts of my story that readers skip. That's hard for me, but knowing what experienced authors say can help.
"Everyone needs an editor." ~ Tim Foote
"As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out." ~ Mark Twain
"The simpler you say it, the more eloquent it is." ~ August Wilson
"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"Rereading reveals rubbish and redundance." ~ Duane Alan Hahn
"You become a good writer just as you become a good joiner: by planing down your sentences." ~ Anatole France
"The wastebasket is a writer’s best friend." ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer
"It is with words as with sunbeams. The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn." ~ Robert Southey
"Pithy sentences are like sharp nails driving truth into our memory." ~ Diderot
"Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them." ~ John Ruskin
Enough said.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi,
I started editing down my novel by reading it backwards (I have a discussion on this site where I've been tracking my progress; so far so good). It's a tedious exercise, but I've been finding many places where I can easily delete anywhere from a couple of words (simple "he said" tags) to whole paragraphs that make me sit and think to myself, "Why are you keeping that?"
By the way, your statement about "categorized notes going back years" is so timely! On Monday, when I went to work, my laptop refused to boot up. I was stuck in a log-on loop. A few hours later, I got the diagnosis from our help desk: fried hard drive. I lost everything. Fortunately, my really important files and e-mail threads are stored on the company's various servers. But I still lost a lot of "categorized" stuff. Other than all of my bookmarks, I decided to treat it as a chance to reorganize the way I do my job (and to stop storing files locally!). Sometimes, wholesale deletion can be a good thing - though, I wouldn't recommend that for one's novel!
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Angela  Ack! A fried hard drive can be a nightmare. But, you do suggest a new discussion topic, "Will hard copy books physically outlast eBooks?" I think I could argue that both ways.
A good friend of mine was a copywriter, and he used the same editing trick you do, reading what he'd written in reverse. He swore by it. Said it was like reading it for the first time.
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Joined: 3/16/2012
Posts: 5
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"Logorrhea"! Good one!
I wish I could remember (and here even Google fails me) which artist said,
"For the sake of the painting, you must destroy the beautiful thing."
And oh, it is so hard to backspace over that beautiful turn of phrase.
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Joined: 2/25/2012
Posts: 20
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I have the hardest time paring down my writing: in order to say something plainly, I have to try to wrap my head around the idea that someone will want to read a story on its own merit, even if it is simply written...the days when I can't believe that are the days when my writing gets totally out of control with the loopy prose.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi, Harper - Sometimes, when I read over a section I had written some time ago, I sit here and think, "Who was messing with my file?!?!? I didn't write that, did I?" It really pays to let stuff sit a bit and reread it with a pair of fresh eyes. And then repeat.
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