Personally, I think it's horrible that people are being asked to cut their work, and yet by the same token some writers (not necessarily BFFs) could definitely learn something from having to sit down and really evaluate what every chapter is contributing to the overall story (like Stephen King, who has a bad tendency to ramble when he doesn't need to). I guess that's where learning and refining the art of the short story comes in handy: you learn how to make every word count (figuratively) and you can still make a beautiful story.
Just a quick one (the other question will take longer, and I'm on a break <g>). First: short stories teach a style of tonal writing that novel editors often then try to break; they want more -- and not less -- incluing (this is not always true, but I certainly felt it back in my day).
Two: Stephen King is never going to be told what to write. In his slump, he sells vastly more than most of us here will ever sell. The length of his books are not in question. Well, okay, there's one exception I can think of, and it's a funny story, but. He wasn't asked to cut anything, ever.
And, to be frank, from a business point of view, he sells -- why waste editorial time and the cost of that time, on his work?
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-09-10 09:24 am (UTC)Just a quick one (the other question will take longer, and I'm on a break <g>). First: short stories teach a style of tonal writing that novel editors often then try to break; they want more -- and not less -- incluing (this is not always true, but I certainly felt it back in my day).
Two: Stephen King is never going to be told what to write. In his slump, he sells vastly more than most of us here will ever sell. The length of his books are not in question. Well, okay, there's one exception I can think of, and it's a funny story, but. He wasn't asked to cut anything, ever.
And, to be frank, from a business point of view, he sells -- why waste editorial time and the cost of that time, on his work?