That I’m still learning to write well. I spent a good few hours tonight writing the second chapter in my novel. This chapter introduces the main antagonist in the book, and does some significant world building. At about the hour and a half mark, I realized what I’d been writing was boring. It was important to me to understand where my antagonist came from and how he could achieve his goals, but it didn’t serve the reader. So I ditched over 1400 words. While that hurt a bit, I believe the chapter, the character, and the story are better for leaving all that off the page. The reader’s experience is far more important than any idle vanity or self service I need. I know this story better than the characters themselves, so my needs are secondary at best. Still, I managed to start over and squeeze out another 3800 words! Only another 82,300 words to go…
