What
are you prepared to sacrifice for your book ?
I've
just finished reading The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh.
At one
crucial point he appears to kill off a main (and my favourite) character.
A key person not just in the s book but the whole series.
SHOCKER!
It was certainly brave and got me into hyper page turning mode.
What the hell happens next?
I can imagine the author thinking, ‘Do I kill them or keep them? In the end the story decides.
Would
you be prepared to kill off a favourite character?
And
sacrificing isn’t just for fiction.
When I
write a newsletter, I often find it's better if I sacrifice the first paragraph. I did today.
When I
wrote The Edge how the best get better I had a ruthless editor.
There
were many more ideas left on the hard drive than made it to the final publication.
‘Enough for another book?’ I suggested.
‘No,
That’s why I took them out.’
Ouch!
Often
movies could be twice their length, but a good editor will know what to cut out to speed up the plot and keep the viewer engaged.
Comedians will often take a joke from their set when it becomes ‘too comfortable’.
And
children’s books. Oh my, now there’s a place where every word that doesn’t earn its place has to go.
What
are you prepared to sacrifice, ideas, characters, words to make your book better for your reader?
I’d
love to know.
Reply
to this email and I’ll send a copy of The Edge to my favourite.
Be
Brilliant!
