Going Through Old Novel Drafts & This is What I Found
The other day, while my twins were napping, I decided to comb through some old documents on my computer. Novel drafts, book ideas, and what not. I came across a bulleted list of “things to add” to future manuscripts. I was cracking up reading them. And also thinking: these are kinda good, maybe I should add them to my next project.
I’m a writer who always keeps a document of deleted content when I’m editing. For example, when I was meticulously nitpicking through The Manhattan Mishap after my editor’s evaluation, I ruthlessly chopped snippets, sentences, paragraphs from the original manuscript. The “deleted” document has over 14,000 words in it. Yeah, I went a little crazy on the rewrite, but it’s definitely better because of it.
Here are five of my favourite lines I found:
01 — “I can already tell this is going to be good,” said Agi. She lived for drama. Her Twitter handle was @driesvandrama. Literally. Drama satiated her more than the buffet at the Bellagio.
02 — The summer is all about slinky hemlines, fresh fruit smoothies, sunblock, shameless flirtations, leather sandals, and dancing the night away in a teeny bikini.
03 — Not all of your decisions have to make sense… you can do some things strictly for cinematic effect.
04 — Your health, education, and career are worthy investments. Boys? Not so much.
05 — Are you okay? No, bitch. I want to be rich!
Which one is your favourite? And what kind of story or stories should I add these lines into? I’m currently editing a Christmas-themed novelette called The Fashion Girl Goes Home and writing two move full-length books called She Looks Good and Someone You Find Twice. Oh, and I’m also thinking of publishing a book of short stories this summer! Phew. I’m busy.
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