Letting go of Text

I'm beginning to discover that most of my writing classes are turning into self-editing classes. Seems that my writing tips these days would all be related to self-editing, too. Really, though, isn't that such an important part of writing? Knowing when to let go of words?

My book, Lost Edens , is publishing at right around 45,000 words. At one point, it was a 90,000 word manuscript. Yep, that's right. I cut it in half for publication. I had a wonderful early, early reader, Laurel Walsh, who told me that the story that needed to be told didn't need so many words.

So, how do you know when to let go of words? I just started working out the first draft for a follow-up to Lost Edens and I realized that I was taking a ton of time setting scenes instead of cutting to the main action. Once I cut out three pages of text I was able to get directly to the point of the scene. So here's my writing tip: practice cutting text. Here's my writing advice: never get too attached to any particular collection of words.

Here's how to practice:
Write out your day, step by step. Describe the scene as you woke up, moved through the day, each and every interaction with other people, what you wore, what you ate. Practice writing out really intense detail from the start of your day to where you are in the day as you write.

Set this aside.

Then, go through and determine the highlight of the day. What event or action could stand alone as a definition of the day? Try to delete and edit so that the day reduces to focus on just this one event or action.

And remember: don't be afraid to get rid of text. Write! Delete! Write again!