Razorblades

I've just finished a piece of short fiction for a uni assignment. The limit was 2,500 words with a tolerance of +/-5%. The first draft clocked in at 4,800 words.

Which is good, in a way. This is the first thing I've done in months which I've really, really enjoyed writing and I could have stuck with this character for another 10,000 words if I had the chance. But trying to hack away almost half of the story afterwards is a nightmare. There's only so much rephrasing you can do. Eventually, you get into a situation where you just have to put the different story elements into the ring, let them fight each other to the death, and rebuild your story around the things to survive.

This is where feedback is vital. My most valuable asset as a writer is the large circle of clever people I have around me who are happy to give up there time to tell me exactly where my first drafts are sucking. I've had pages and pages of notes from people, all really insightful, and from them I was able to figure out how to re-jig the story so that it fit that 2,500 word limit.

I know some writers hate the idea of letting other people touch their work before it's done. If you can work like that successfully, then I tip my hat to you. Me, I'm always going to be dependant on my mates to help me out.