Cutting a novel that runs too long

Many first drafts are twice as long as they should be. That's not a flaw in the writer: in drafting you explore, try things, write the same scene three times to find out how it goes. The problem comes later, when the manuscript has to be made readable and every page seems essential.

Why start from the top

The temptation is to start with sentences: an adjective here, an adverb there. It's long work with a small return: on a hundred-thousand-word novel you gain, if you're good, about ten per cent. Removing a subplot that doesn't serve frees far more in one go.

The right order is the same as for revision: structure first, then scenes, sentences last.

Level 1: plotlines and scenes

List your scenes, one line each, with what changes. Then ask of each one:

• if I cut it, what's lost? If the answer is "nothing" or "a bit of atmosphere", it's a candidate;
• does it do the same job as another scene? Two scenes showing the same tension between the same characters can often be merged into one;
• does the subplot serve the theme or the main plot? If it runs alongside without ever touching it, it adds weight without giving anything.

"Preparation" scenes (the character getting up, dressing, leaving the house) are often the first to go: the reader doesn't need them to understand.

Level 2: characters and information

• Characters doing the same job: two friends of the protagonist with the same function can become one, richer character.
• Repeated information: the reader learns something, then a character tells another, then the protagonist mulls it over. Once is enough.
• Context and setting: the parts of world, history or explanation you need in order to know, but the reader doesn't need in order to understand.

Level 3: sentences

Only at this point do you work on the prose: sentences that say the same thing twice, polite small talk in dialogue, a gesture attached to every line, slow scene openings. The cuts here are small, but across a whole book they make a faster text.

Cutting without suffering

The emotional block is often stronger than the technical one: that scene cost you a week, and you like that sentence. Two tricks help:

• keep everything you cut, in a file or a saved version. Knowing it isn't lost makes cutting much easier, and you almost never go back for it;
• read the chapter without the scene. Often that's the only way to realise the chapter works better.

How long should it be in the end?

It depends on genre and audience, and market benchmarks are useful for orientation. But the real question is another: does every page keep the reader inside the story? A long book where every scene matters holds up; a short book full of gaps doesn't.

In NovLore

Before a major cut, save a version of the chapter from the history: the complete text stays there, and you can reopen it or take back a passage at any time. The book structure, with chapters you can move around, helps you see where two scenes could be merged.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I start if everything seems important?

With the list of scenes, one line each. Written down, the book immediately shows its repetitions and the stretches where nothing happens, which hide on a full page.

Does cutting lose the voice?

Not if you cut scenes and repetitions first. Voice lives in the way the story is told, not in the number of words. The risk only arises when you squeeze every sentence mechanically, until it becomes anonymous.

How do I know when I've cut enough?

When, rereading, you no longer find places where you want to skip. An outside reader helps too: ask them to mark where they got bored.