Tips for Overwriters
IT HAS FINALLY COME
THE POST I HAVE PROMISED FOR, like, I dunno three weeks or something?
IT'S REALLY HERE THIS TIME
SO PREPARE YOURSELVES
FOR
Alright! To recap, there are basically two types of writers. Overwriters, and Underwriters. Underwriters tend to get the bare bones of their story down first, and then they have to spend the editing time beefing it up, adding the meat and spices to their feast of a book. If that is you, you can check out my post right here.
Overwriters are those who have a 200,000 word novel on their first draft and need to cut out things because HOLY CRAP THOSE ARE A LOT OF WORDS.
But seriously, overwriters, you're talented. I'm a severe underwriter. You guys are like unicorns to me.
ANYWAYS let's continue.
ALSO sorry for so much caps-lock.
OKAY LETS GET GOING.
Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But seriously, if your manuscript has the same word count as the ENTIRE LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES, you need to cut a lot. Take a break. Stay away from your book for a week, and when you go back, look at it as if you were an editor. What scenes are extra? What dialogue could be cut down? What scenes are plot devices that wouldn't seem natural if this book was real? What needs re-writing? Most of the time, if you see things that wouldn't be natural, you can re-write them to be more-so, or just cut them completely. Scenes created purely to bring up a certain element of the plot aren't liked by agents and editors. While readers may like them, it can help reduce word count–and increase the realism (even if you're writing a fantasy novel).
I'm a rare case of underwriter. When I edit, I add so many scenes I don't need. I found I could cut an ENTIRE CHAPTER and add three sentences to the beginning of the following chapter that did it just as more justice than I could in those five pages.
This brings me to my next point:
Sometimes, there's a scene that you really like, so you expand it ten times more than it needs to be. And then you do the same thing with another scene. You don't have to do that. Even if it's filled with your best work, you can shorten it and shmush them together. Or, you could delete an entire chapter (like me) and add three sentences that do just as well (like me)! You don't need everything to be written out in painstaking detail.
Which is another segway!
I get it, you want your readers to see everything exactly like you do. But they won't! I mean, they will if you write out three pages describing one room (I actually read a book that had an entire page dedicated to describing the feel and color of curtains in a certain room), but odds are they're gonna take one look at it and go "Okay that's too much... SKIP". The problem with that, is they don't know where they are. They could imagine someone across the room, leaning on a dresser, but then you tell them that they are sitting in a chair by the desk. By skipping all that detail, they've lost a lot of information. So don't write it so they want to skip over. Do a good, quick description that they'll read. Use descriptive words. But also, don't plop it all down in one paragraph. Space it through the scene. I'm writing a lot of simple sentences. Sorry about that. Anyways.
Lastly:
Maybe it isn't supposed to be one book. Maybe you can make it a duology or a trilogy. Maybe you can even keep all the scenes and make it into a series. Experiment with this. It doesn't have to be your too-long-word-count fix, but it could be something to help for the future.
THE POST I HAVE PROMISED FOR, like, I dunno three weeks or something?
IT'S REALLY HERE THIS TIME
SO PREPARE YOURSELVES
FOR
Alright! To recap, there are basically two types of writers. Overwriters, and Underwriters. Underwriters tend to get the bare bones of their story down first, and then they have to spend the editing time beefing it up, adding the meat and spices to their feast of a book. If that is you, you can check out my post right here.
Overwriters are those who have a 200,000 word novel on their first draft and need to cut out things because HOLY CRAP THOSE ARE A LOT OF WORDS.
But seriously, overwriters, you're talented. I'm a severe underwriter. You guys are like unicorns to me.
ANYWAYS let's continue.
ALSO sorry for so much caps-lock.
OKAY LETS GET GOING.
1: Delete Everything
Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But seriously, if your manuscript has the same word count as the ENTIRE LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES, you need to cut a lot. Take a break. Stay away from your book for a week, and when you go back, look at it as if you were an editor. What scenes are extra? What dialogue could be cut down? What scenes are plot devices that wouldn't seem natural if this book was real? What needs re-writing? Most of the time, if you see things that wouldn't be natural, you can re-write them to be more-so, or just cut them completely. Scenes created purely to bring up a certain element of the plot aren't liked by agents and editors. While readers may like them, it can help reduce word count–and increase the realism (even if you're writing a fantasy novel).
I'm a rare case of underwriter. When I edit, I add so many scenes I don't need. I found I could cut an ENTIRE CHAPTER and add three sentences to the beginning of the following chapter that did it just as more justice than I could in those five pages.
This brings me to my next point:
2: Combine Scenes
Sometimes, there's a scene that you really like, so you expand it ten times more than it needs to be. And then you do the same thing with another scene. You don't have to do that. Even if it's filled with your best work, you can shorten it and shmush them together. Or, you could delete an entire chapter (like me) and add three sentences that do just as well (like me)! You don't need everything to be written out in painstaking detail.
Which is another segway!
3: Don't Give Too Much Detail
I get it, you want your readers to see everything exactly like you do. But they won't! I mean, they will if you write out three pages describing one room (I actually read a book that had an entire page dedicated to describing the feel and color of curtains in a certain room), but odds are they're gonna take one look at it and go "Okay that's too much... SKIP". The problem with that, is they don't know where they are. They could imagine someone across the room, leaning on a dresser, but then you tell them that they are sitting in a chair by the desk. By skipping all that detail, they've lost a lot of information. So don't write it so they want to skip over. Do a good, quick description that they'll read. Use descriptive words. But also, don't plop it all down in one paragraph. Space it through the scene. I'm writing a lot of simple sentences. Sorry about that. Anyways.
Lastly:
4: Debate Cutting It Up
Maybe it isn't supposed to be one book. Maybe you can make it a duology or a trilogy. Maybe you can even keep all the scenes and make it into a series. Experiment with this. It doesn't have to be your too-long-word-count fix, but it could be something to help for the future.
Are you an overwriter or an underwriter? Is there something else you want me to give advice on? Anything you want to ask me? Tell me in the comments!
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~Olivia Ann
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