X: eXtraneous. Don't be.

i'll never forget an interview i read on marieke's blog (last fall).  she interviewed leah cypress, author of mistwood. leah said when she writes her first draft, it's as though the story is taking place in white rooms.  NO DETAILS, NO DESCRIPTIONS.  then she goes back through and adds that stuff in.  I LOVE THAT. (so much that i know i've mentioned this before, but can't find my own post link.)

you know why don't you? 

i'm a recovering overwriter.  and what better way is there than NOT to have that pressure on me to write all the details.  no shakes.  no hyperventilating.  no temptation. because  i've removed the vile need to binge on flowing, descriptive, purple flowery wordy strings of sentences.

phew.

just. write. the. story.

just. create. the characters. 

i promise you.  I PROMISE YOU.  your voice will improve.  your tone will BE there.  your writing will be CONSISTENT. 

your focus will not be lost.

you MAY find later that you don't need to add much in at all.

better writing.  cleaner writing.  less dusting required. 

(won't your merry maids aka beta readers be pleased???)

extraneous: 

not pertaining to...impertinent...out of place...

not vital...unrelated...irrelevant

(why do you want to add in a bunch of irrelevant stuff? tell me. why? 

PLOT people.  CHARACTERS people.  that's what it's about. 

do you need to set the scene?  yes. 

sometimes can the setting BE so amazing it's like a vital character.  yes. 

BUT do it without irrelevant flowery page-filling garbage you call details. 

okay?)

hahaha.  an X book...did you think i couldn't do it?  did you? 

(before i get too cocky, i guess i kinda cheated.  they don't actually START with x.  what?  extraneous doesn't either?  how many days until Z?)

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