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The really big chunk I just removed is exciting and full of description, but it kind of just delays and sidetracks the story. Also, something happens in this scene that raises questions about the plausibility of what transpires elsewhere, so I think I made the right decision. It just hurts to see all those days and days of writing flushed away.
I also removed three minor characters and reduced anothers' prominence to a cameo. I liked those characters. They interest me. It hurts to lose them. But I think ... again, that I made the write decision.
What's even more striking is that with that cut from 185k to 102k I've also probably written about 20k of entirely new stuff, so I've actually cut about 100k. It amazes me that that book still looks anything like my draft.
I never used to be able to be so brutal with my writing. Maybe it means I'm learning how to be a better writer. I hope.
We'll see in about a month when I expect to finish this thing.
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