3min chapter

Writer's Routine cover image

Tim Weaver, author of 'The Blackbird' - Thriller writer talks about learning from your second book, welcoming the worry, and making people disappear

Writer's Routine

CHAPTER

How to Cut 30,000 Words From a Novel

When you're faced with the prospect of cutting 30,000 words, there'll be quite a lot of other stuff you have to figure out because of that. So in my first draft, one of the things that I tend to do is I over describe a little bit. And then when it goes into my editor, she'll also cut stuff out just so you don't need this. It was actually quite straightforward. I think it was more just like the idea of it that was, that was big. You know what, and as you go through, it's really surprising how much those little cuts total start toting up.

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