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.
