Thursday, March 3, 2011

Bel. With a Chainsaw. On a Mission. Almost...

I have this little document, about 20,000 words or so, with a precocious protagonist (say that 3x fast) and a cute little plot. It is totally appropriate for an early elementary reader. Except for the 20,000 word part. That is about twice as many words as I need.

So picture me, in my lumberjack costume (I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK!), with my chainsaw, getting ready to clear-cut the holysmokes out of this manuscript. Pretty imposing, right? Now picture Lumberjack Bel sitting at the computer, chainsaw sitting idly on the floor by my chair, harvesting virtual cabbage. Sigh...

I can't seem to get motivated! I think it's because the whole middle is actually part of a completely different cute little plot and needs to be rewritten. It's overwhelming. So I'm avoiding it. You know?

What would you do? What should I do? And don't say, "Just do it!" because I know that! But I'm stuck.

So?

2 comments:

The Write Girl said...

What a predicament Bel. Okay, I ran across this website called women on writing. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but I find this site to be very informative and helpful. Here is a link to one article that may be useful:
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/43-How2-TrimFatFromYourManuscript.html

I hope the article helps. I suppose it's better to have more than not enough. What about splitting the story in half or making it into a mini series. Good luck!!

septembermom said...

Bel, I think the Write Girl gives some useful advice. I would probably try to look at in sections. It's a tough task.

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