The writing I did today was complex.
The character was in a 'learning' situation. I fought to stay true to the message though and not go off on a tangent - telling about the mechanics of the situation instead of dwelling on the heart of what was being learned.
Specificaly, the hero/heroine is in 'squire school' and the 1st few days of testing. I got caught up in what each test was, how he did, and his interactions with his peers.
I finally had to pull back and say, 'Listen. This is not about what an heraldric banner looks like, what each symbol and charge means, but the stress the character undergoes trying to remember the dozen or so banners of the knights of the realm, and the relief/disappointment at the end of the tests. I'm not writing a 'Tolhoffer Medieval Combat' manual.
I know I'm not the only author that this happens, too. I'm glad I recognized it. I hope I continue to recognize it.
Good for you!! I cut several pages from my manuscript, today, because it didn't move the story along. Can't tell in the page count, since I had to fill in a few details that had been covered in the longer sections. Couldn't bring myself to simply delete though. I've saved it for later in the trilogy. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI rarely 'truly' delete things myself... A couple months back, I removed about three pages worth of stuff. Not sure if I'll ever use it - but I'm not getting ridof it.
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