I've spoken before about how I love woven stories. That's one reason I love Charles Dickens -- he weaves so many threads, all inter-twining, into his final masterpiece.
But editing such a story is a nightmare!
I just deleted 5 entire chapters from my Snow White retelling. But that means I have to read through every single other chapter, deleting threads that are no longer relevant.
--Those deleted chapters were foreshadowed and hinted at, random objects were put in place for later use, the first half of humor was layed out so you would laugh when you read the chapter.
--And then, once the chapter itself was deleted, the hints that were hidden in the deleted chapter are gone, so your later chapters are lacking the foreshadowing, hinting, placement of objects, et cetera, that would have been wrapped up in that chapter.
No scene is one layer. You have your primary objective but a million other tiny things are happening. And cutting the threads makes the whole story want to unravel.
In editing, I found myself appreciating the way my stories really are all interwoven. That's cool. I didn't realize how much I did that.
But...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! It makes editing a NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor Charles Dickens.
But editing such a story is a nightmare!
I just deleted 5 entire chapters from my Snow White retelling. But that means I have to read through every single other chapter, deleting threads that are no longer relevant.
--Those deleted chapters were foreshadowed and hinted at, random objects were put in place for later use, the first half of humor was layed out so you would laugh when you read the chapter.
--And then, once the chapter itself was deleted, the hints that were hidden in the deleted chapter are gone, so your later chapters are lacking the foreshadowing, hinting, placement of objects, et cetera, that would have been wrapped up in that chapter.
No scene is one layer. You have your primary objective but a million other tiny things are happening. And cutting the threads makes the whole story want to unravel.
In editing, I found myself appreciating the way my stories really are all interwoven. That's cool. I didn't realize how much I did that.
But...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! It makes editing a NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor Charles Dickens.
Oh you poor thing, editing is so hard. I am not excited for when I have to do mine.
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