You’ve finished writing a story, you’ve let it sit aside for a day or a week or maybe even a month, ignoring the dust accumulating on it, trying to distract yourself with new ideas and reading that pile of books you’ve left sitting on your desk for the last few months. But you know you’re going to have to come back to your story eventually. You know you’re going to have to place it on the chopping board.
You need to arm yourself with a few things – a red pen or a computer, a trusty beta-reader or editor, and a whole lot of grit. You may also want to throw in some chocolate to calm your nerves. You’re going to need it. Place your papers or your computer on the metaphorical chopping board and get ready to start cutting and dicing! It’s not as bad as it sounds really, and I should know because I’m done my fair share of cutting (yes I know that sounds bad), but you can’t deny that some of the things in that book have got to go.