Don't Over Think Your Story

I often tell my writing students that I am inherently lazy. No, I am not a couch potato, although there are days I feel like it, but if I can find a short cut to something, I will certainly take it. For example, if I have to run some errands and I have to get groceries, maybe get some things to fix something in the garage, and pick up something for a birthday party, or clothing, I might swing by a store such a Fred Meyer (You know, one of those One Stop Shopping Places). Yes, I might pay a bit more, but it saves driving all across town and stopping multiple places when I can do this all in one place. 

When it comes to writing, I will also do the same thing, and I do this when I am editing my author's work as well. If I can find a solution that will multi-task other issues, I will take it in a heartbeat! Why make life harder for yourself.

The reality is that too many authors, when they edit, destroy a perfectly good manuscript by over-editing the thing to death. They will fix one problem in chapter 3 and with some huge edit and then have to go and re-work things in the later chapters to accommodate that change, only to then have to go back and re-work things later when they have to make those other changes the editor suggested in chapters 10, 14, and 18. Ugh, too much work for me.

I know I have said this before, but this is a good example. One of my authors had an editor who realized the hero in her book needed this reason for his behaviors. The editor recommended building in this entire new storyline. Sorry, but as I looked at it, there had to be as easier way. We found it. We made him a widower. Killed off his earlier wife with a freak disease during child birth. Ta da! Now he had a reason not to want to put another woman through child birth again. How much easier was that. We were talking about one paragraph.

Look, work smarter, not harder!