The Brutality of Editing
You write it, you edit it, then you cut it.
In Hollywood, there’s a phrase I think most people are familiar with. It’s “Left on the cutting room floor.” Not only do scenes get cut and then not seen when the film reaches the theatre, but sometimes whole roles are left behind. Actors can spend weeks on a shoot and discover that their entire role will never be seen. That must be a combo of both depressing and infuriating.
A similar but slightly less well-known idea exists in writing. It’s called “Kill your darlings.” Like leaving film on the cutting room floor, killing your darlings means leaving plot lines, characters, scenes, and chapters in your virtual recycle bin.
In both cases, the reason for doing this is to keep the story moving forward. This can be challenging, however, because of the work you did on it. That’s part of the brutality of editing to keep your story cohesive, moving, and entertaining.
Editing three times
To all intents and purposes, I edit anything I write (save blogs like this) three times. This in and of itself is part of the brutality of editing. That’s especially true when you are dividing your time between ongoing writing and the different levels of editing.
