|
I'm the one who offered the 8 months planning & writing; 8 months of editing and pruning – that's for a 140k novel. What happens during the writing phase is that I go like stink and the plot expands to suit the unfolding story despite the months of planning preceding it. I always end up with about 170-200k, and I KNOW that some substantial parts will have to be sacrificed. I end up sacrificing more than an entire novella-worth of content in the editing phase, and it hurts. It's mostly descriptive writing, and I end up thinking "I could condense this entire chapter into a different character's observation, in far less detail. Hate to lose the nice descriptive stuff, but if it keeps the story rolling... it has to go."
Yes, it's inefficient, but it also gives ME (not the reader) a better understanding of the plot and the characters, and it probably even helps the reader in that they read only what is essential. And, like most authors, I basically write for me, not the reader. It's a passion.
|