At one time, writers were known for staying up all night, typing away at a typewriter or scratching away with a pen, surrounded by crumpled-up paper.
These writers knew one thing: if they threw an attempt away, they had the confidence to write something even better.
I found myself thinking about this romanticized vision of a writer as I worked on my current novel this week. I’d been struggling with a particular section for almost a week — rewriting it over and over, trying to see if I could get it to work.
Suddenly, it came to me: the reason that I was struggling was that the piece didn’t fit. I was trying to put a square peg in a round hole.
I pulled out a few of the elements that I wanted to capture with that section, and sprinkled them into the sections before and after. After I then cut out the trouble section, everything suddenly fit.
Since then, I’ve only felt better about the decision. Never have I felt so good about throwing something away.
The moral of the story is: if you’re really struggling with a section, ask yourself if it’s really necessary, or if there’s another way to incorporate the ideas into your story. The reason you’re struggling might be that the piece simply doesn’t fit.
Tags: criticism, Writer's Block, writing problems
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