My gud writing just about ruined this piece.  Thank goodness I was forced to cut 300 words.

Just to make sure I wouldn’t lose even one gem…not one polished phrase…I copied the total story into a new file.  “I’ll keep it forever,” I promised myself.

Then I settled down to hard, painful work.  One after another, I sliced and hacked away clever phrases and perfect adjectives.  To speed up the process, I lopped off complete paragraphs.

And much to my surprise, as clever and well-written as they were, I’m glad they’re gone.  Not only will the piece be short enough to please the editor, but it has punch.  Vitality.  It’s not bogged down with extra weight.  Like the day I realized my clothes were hanging better, and I knew without stepping on the scales that I had lost five pounds.  I hate to admit it, I’m a better writer without all those words.

Now, can I carry this new conviction with courage and delete my sacred “back-up file?”

Maybe…tomorrow.

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THE WRITER’S LIFE
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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