For over a year (?) now I’ve been following the progress of writing a new novel that Jennifer Crusie is generously sharing on her blog, Argh Ink. I’m learning so much about her process, and it’s incredible that Jenny is documenting so much, because we so rarely get to see the messy, chaotic back stage of creatives. Reading the journey from spark of an idea to a full draft has been inspiring, exciting, and thought-provoking.
The latest update is about editing from the perspective of tightening the story, binding it more closely to what Jenny calls the story spine. To that end, she’s considering cutting a beloved character, Mort — one whom the early readers almost universally love, who is fun, who adds a lot of personality to the scenes he’s in — but who, in her view, doesn’t add to the story enough. In several scenes, Jenny points out, when he’s gone, then Nita and the love interest Nick are forced to deal directly (and only) with each other, and that is a good thing.
Jenny talks a lot about having to cut clever dialogue, which always kind of wounds me on a personal level because her dialogue is SO CLEVER and so effervescent and feels like it NEEDS to be there. But I have to admit when I read her published book (which she’s edited way the hell down) I never miss what was cut. The books still brim with personality and humor and love.
I’m currently in edits on a WIP from last summer and man, it’s so hard to keep to the core of the story. There are so many things the story *could* be about; I have to make clear decisions about what *this* story is about, and let that guide my editing. It’s easier to come up with new ideas I want to weave in than to make decisions about what to throw out and what to keep. So that’s a skill I have to keep working on, and I’m glad to get a peek at another writer’s approach to it.
Oh, and in this case, you should DEFINITELY read the comments, because a lot of great discussion and learning happens in the comments of her posts. Jennifer Crusie is a NATIONAL TREASURE for exposing her writing process like this!