I've been struggling with my book recently. Not in writing, or editing, but in a decision I made to remove a character, in order to reduce my word count.
I'm going to just copy-paste a thread I started on authonomy, to save typing the whole thing out again. The bold parts are my posts:
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Those of you who have read several chapters of my book will know I have several storylines interweaving and overlapping throughout. I took one storyline out in order to cut my word count - new writer, long MS, costs blah blah blah - but I'm finding it very difficult to take the other threads anywhere without leaving a hole in the blanket.
I'm unsure how to progress. Do I keep ploughing on without said character and hopefully arrive at my destination (but risk a weaker MS), or stick him back in and end up with a manuscript that's potentially 20k over budget?
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Can the story be split into two volumes rather than one?
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I considered that, but there was no way to split it satisfactorily, grrr.
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I don't know any of the details of the character you've taken out or why. I can only answer how it would be for me; which is that if I cut something out and had to make an effort to *keep* it out when what I *really* wanted to do was to let it back in, then it'll happen anyway, *or* the whole thing may come across as a bit disjointed or stunted.
Take yourself off somewhere and listen to your inner instinct. Do you *really* want to cut out this character? Or are you just doing it because it seems logical? Not everything that's right seems logical.
Probably makes no sense whatsoever, I guess I'm just suggesting that you already know the answer really, if you listen to it.
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So true! Every time I come to a point in the plot where he WAS, I have to think, "Ok, how do I get these guys to that place/event/emotion without using him?" and in times when I do manage it, I still don't think it flows as well as originally. He's basically the antithesis of Wolf, thus creates a dilemma for Luna, whereas without him, her dilemma is removed, and thus I need to scrabble for another threat to the relationship.
My inner voice is screaming "Put him back! Put him back!" but I don't want the book to become unpublishable, simply because it's too freakin' long, haha.
Your post makes a lot of sense. I just wonder how rigid MS lengths are. For the style I am going for, I think the publishers representing similar authors (Jackie Collins, Louise & Tilly Bagshawe, Belinda Jones, Lauren Weisberger etc) are asking for 150k words. If I put him back in, I risk taking the book up to 170k.
However, I managed to strip 20k out editing the first half of the MS, so maybe with the right editor, I could have him in AND get my word count down to an acceptable amount.
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Then I'd say listen to that screaming inner voice. Better to have a great MS worthy of publishing at 170k words - (and 10-20k would be easy to lose I reckon, with extra tightening), than to have a crap MS that isn't worthy of publishing at 150k words.
Not that I'm saying it'd be cr*ap - I'm just using that as an extreme.
The unconscious *always* wins the argument.
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Dammit, you're right. I'm putting him back in!
Sexy Noo Yoik artist, Guy, welcome back into the fold!!!
Woo, am I glad I save everything!
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Stick him back in. Edit words down later. R
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Keep the character -- cut the Word count in a more difficult, painstaking, line by line sort of way.
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yeah, i want to see this guy too!
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How sad am I - all excited, feeling like I'm raising a real person from the dead for a second chance, hahaha
I'm so happy he's back! Thanks, guys
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So Mr Guy Waterhouse, New York artist and gallery owner, is making a return to the Swallow manuscript. To read it, please visit my page on Authonomy (and back the book by putting it on your virtual shelf!)
Have a great evening!
SWALLOW by ILYRIA MOON (click the link below to read)
www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx
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