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| Manuscript & Candy (a must for revising.) |
I recently read a blog about not being afraid of cutting. (Obviously I'm talking about cutting words from a novel, because "cutting" is something completely different among teenagers, something very sad.)
Now I am all for cutting adverbs which should not have been there to begin with! When you get into having to cut entire scenes or characters because they just don't fit with the rest of the story, that's what I'm blogging about.
I feel like I work so hard for every word that goes on the paper (MS Word) that I'm not about to just throw all that work in the garbage (desktop recycle bin.) So what do I do? I cut and paste the deleted scenes into a separate word document. I like using Microsoft Office OneNote because I can paste anywhere on the page and write notes all around it. It also tags what I paste and labels it so I can remember exactly where it came from. (I forget everything but that's a post for another day.) I have found those deleted sections to be very useful even if I just use fragments for other stories.
For some reason it is discouraging for me to see my effort go into a recycle bin because it was not just my effort alone, it was time that I took from my family which is not to be taken lightly. I strive to make every moment count, whether it is writing novels, blogging, or tweeting. So keeping an archive of my words is my way of making sure that it was time not spent but used with purpose.
What do you do? I would love to hear your suggestions.
I am so excited to tell you guys about an upcoming series on my blog called Coffee & Convo. We will be having Coffee and Convo's with authors, artists, and a few others I have invited to visit. This will be a great time for you to get to know some great professionals and their amazing work.
Look for Coffee & Convo coming soon...very soon :)
Thank you so much for supporting SAND!
