I’ve been adding and deleting sections of my novel countless times, trying to create a unique story without the overused words I find, such as: was, I, took. etc.
I have a word document for the scenes I've removed, and some of these are making their way back in. Now I'm pouring over my manuscript and asking myself, is this important or just useless words to the reader? As I read more books and write/edit my book, it seems easier to find my useless words and either delete it or improve it, maybe even add an additional small but important scene. My thesaurus and dictionary have been great friends to me as I search for better words to express my characters’ reactions to their problems.
Do you either delete or improve your story countless times like me? Do you copy and paste the deleted words to a separate document?
I always have a "deleted scenes" folder, too :)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to see what I need to remove or add sometimes, because I know what my intent was when I wrote it. But it is easier each time, with practice!
I'm glad I'm not the only writer who has a delete folder. This is a complicated novel that is finally coming together. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a good idea to keep a separate folder in case you want to add something back in the manuscript.
ReplyDeleteI also have many different word docs of each new revision...I figure I can delete them all later. Or keep them and maybe even use deleted scenes or characters in another book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment on my blog!
Using deleted scenes or characters in a new book is a great idea, I hadn't thought of that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!
I revise and improve my story over and over and OVER until I think I can stare at it no more. Then I go through it again, just to make sure every word is right. Sometimes I think I don't know when to stop. I don't keep a word doc of deleteds, though. I just keep each revision saved separately in case I need to go back for something.
ReplyDeleteI have about 10 copies of my initial revisions. That's when I moved sections to a new folder.
ReplyDelete