Long enough to reach the ground

Today's writing tip: I don't follow NaNoWriMo, so I dont know if there's some sort of length target, but it's a good issue to touch upon at the start of a project. Length shouldn't be an issue during the first draft. There are plenty of other things to obsess about. Length isn't one of them. Write the story. Tell the tale. Then see what needs to be cut or expanded. I tend to write sparse drafts. Hidden Talents grew from 25,000 words to 55,000. On my second pass, sentences (e.g. "I followed him up the stairs.") became scenes, and objects gained something beyond generic descriptions. But I also often cut my first chapter. Or at least weed out all the sentences that say the same thing in three or four different ways.

Bonus tip: it might be okay not to worry about length too much on the second, third, fourth, or fifth draft, either.
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Published on November 03, 2010 02:12
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