Cut it out

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Cry. Whimper. Whine.

But I don’t wanna delete that paragraph/chapter/section of the book. It took me so long to write. There are some great moments in there. The character development is amazing.

There are so many excuses as to why that piece of writing should stay in the book. I know since I’ve used them all. But there’s a reason that it has to go and that’s because you know it does. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be having the argument with yourself in the first place. 

So instead of thinking about all of the reasons why it should stay, remember why it needs to go. It doesn’t advance the plot. The writing is not your best. Your characters actions are forced. Whatever the reason, stop arguing with yourself and cut it out.

Can’t bring yourself to hit the delete button? I feel your pain. Instead of hitting delete, why not try cutting instead. I keep a separate file for all of my scenes that no longer work or that I wrote for another section of the story. That way at least all of my work doesn’t disappear in the blink of an eye, and there’s always the chance that in the future I’ll be able to fit in those bits.

Do you have a file for those deleted gems?