In or out, in or... out?

Sometimes, I just don't know what I was thinking! Probably too covered in smug to think.

Okay, so a 500 page book? Oh, way cool to write so much; not so cool when it comes to editing. I think it's all to do with mood. I've already deleted at least a page, coz, no, we don't need to read about that, thank you, it's a little too graphic - and yet...

The decision on what to leave in and what to remove can be difficult. I know I can reduce the size of the book by getting rid of a character and a particular scene (except I love that scene and the character is pretty important as well). Then there are the extras, some named, some not, who do the 'busy' work. I mean, where would our rich characters be without the concierge? Or the valet? The secretary who keeps the office going?

Oh, yeah: what action-packed, thrill-bound, urban fantasy book is gonna have the above? A book with a dual-natured character under threat, that's what, so the ordinary characters become integral when juxtaposed to the extraordinary.

And I still have to add extra descriptions (at which I truly suck). I'm going to try Angela Ackerman's Description Thesaurus over at herThe Bookshelf Muse site - she also has the Emotion Thesaurus, Colour, Texture and Shapes Thesaurus and the Symbolism Thesaurus. Thanks to Natalie Hatch at What Time is it Again? for the link.

I'd love to skip the boring bits, but I think I'll just re-write them instead; maybe in doing so, I'll know what to cut and what to keep...