Ouch, that hurt so good

If you have been paying any attention at all to the little counter on the right, you might notice something strange. Your eyes are not messing with you. My word count for LOTH (an acronym that represents the working title for my manuscript) did indeed just go from 119,271 to 100,511. Almost 20K words in the apparent wrong direction.

I've been struggling with something I had a feeling I needed to do. So, after giving myself some days to think about how I could save a subplot that I really love, then giving myself a few more days to get used to the idea that I couldn't, I did what I had to do.

Killed those lil' darlins. All 20K words, in which a subset of my cast acted their hearts out and developed into a sideshow that was stealing the thunder of my original story just a little too much. Well, if not exactly stealing the thunder, being quite distracting with their own brand.

But, really, they're not dead yet. (Be sure and say that with the proper accent.)

They've just been moved into their own file folder where they can continue to figure out how the heck they got there and how the heck they can emerge again in their very own show where they are the stars. They might just be, in the words of Hollywood, a successful spinoff.

So now, I'm back down around 100K, my original word count goal for this story, and while it's not over yet, at least it won't turn out to be the longest story known to man (or woman, since I'm equally opportunistic here), which is NOT a good idea for a writer attempting to sell their first manuscript.

The funny thing, and somewhat painful, is after reading back through my outline, sans the extras, the story still makes sense. That's a sure sign, I think.

On the other hand, the characters remain as peripheral, just not as major subplot/POV guys, so character development is still strong for them. I know all about them, you just won't know as much as I do, should this story ever be published.

I should say a short word of thanks to Judy Merrill Larson, by the way. I commented about my struggle after her post about revisions the other day, and she didn't mince any words in her response--"I say ditch it. But save it in another document. You never know when you might resurrect it. And, who knows how it will have changed by the time you finally get back to it." I'm thankful for accessible, published authors who are willing to share words of wisdom. I only hope I get to pay it forward one of these days.

Onward. I see the light.