Days 2 and 3 at the Del

Cutting for clarity; keeping for nuance

Yesterday I worked to continue the “2000 words/day” cut, falling short by less than 250. I also wrote feedback on one workshop piece, and had no time or energy to complete this post. Throughout the cutting process though, I copy/pasted a number of examples of the work in a draft here. Today I’ll share them, and hope you find them useful.

Do read through the comments on my Sunday post. I read, responded, and thought through the responses.

Some writers see this level of re-writing as invasive. Going too far. The fear is that the voice will be lost. Or the rhythm. Or any one or more elements.

This is a valid fear. I can’t think of a fear about re-writing that isn’t valid! Write for a long time, go deeply in, and you’ll come to your own thoughts on this, you’ll be aware of your own “Danger! Go no Further!” signs. I make choices with my work that I wouldn’t have X number of years ago, and there are other choices I no longer make.

I write these rather personal-journal-like posts to reveal MY process. It doesn’t mean it’s the right process… for you. This work is not first draft or even fifth draft work.

Let me know your questions, particularly any you might have after reading the comments.