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The open mic night at The Rusty Nail that wrecked my writing process
I read a piece I'd spent months on, this dense fantasy thing with three made-up languages, and a guy named Carl just said 'I got lost after the first paragraph, man.' That was in Austin, about two years back. Now I write the first page of any idea like I'm telling it to Carl at the bar (you know, simple and clear). Anyone else have a moment like that that just flipped a switch for them?
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lee73314d ago
That "why?" in the margin is brutal but right. I keep a sticky note on my monitor that just says "So what?" to kill any line that doesn't have a good answer. It turns out most readers are just asking for directions to the point.
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spencer_moore3921h ago
Yeah that "so what" sticky note idea from @lee733 is genius. My first drafts are basically just me giving readers directions to nowhere.
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miles27714d ago
Honestly, that Carl guy did you a favor even if it stung. Tbh, having a real person's confused face burned into your brain is the best editing tool you can get. It forces you to cut all the clever junk that only makes sense to you. My switch was a beta reader who just wrote "why?" in the margin like ten times. Now if I can't explain a scene's point in plain words, I scrap it. That focus on clarity is everything.
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