As writers, when we get all wrapped up in a plot idea or go crazy with character development, sometimes the words flow out as if we’re erupting, with lava-hot paragraphs cascading down the page at a blazing speed. Who cares if this sentence isn’t written the best or has a few misspelled words, for instance–the plot must go on!!

But once our writing ardor has cooled, once the mental volcano of literary inspiration has settled back down, we must go back and critically examine our work, beginning to shape the raw flows of words into art. This can be INCREDIBLY daunting–I should know, I’ve been doing this intermittently on my novel for several months. I know well that it gets difficult to cut away some of your most fervent words, some of the awesome sentences that arose out of the huge head of steam you had when you first wrote this paragraph or that page.

So how do you do it? Simple: with every paragraph, every sentence, ask yourself:

SO WHAT?

Yes, It Actually Works–You Just Have to Be Honest

You might be surprised that such a simple, silly-sounding question could help you know what to cut and what to keep in your writing. But it really does. Ask yourself “so what?” after every paragraph, sentence, or even word; ask yourself whether that part of your writing REALLY needs to be there in order to impart your meaning.

When you ask yourself “So what?” about your own writing, it’s tempting to be light-handed with criticism. Don’t. Be ruthless if you have to; dare to see your writing as a reader will. You are the artist of this written work–you have a responsibility to produce the best quality writing you can.

An Example

Here’s an example paragraph I wrote to demo this process:

“The fabric of her dress shimmered faintly in the moonlight. It looked silken, inexplicably heavy on her slight frame–she looked almost overwhelmed with the folds of blue-green fabric. On this muggy, uncomfortable night of about 80 degrees, who would wear such a dress except for those who were rich enough to have a cool shelter to retreat within?”

Start the “So What?” Process

The above paragraph is pretty good. Now, I have to dig into it, tear it apart a little bit, and see how I can make it even better.

“The fabric of her dress shimmered faintly in the moonlight.” So what?

• Adds atmosphere
• Gives hints of the setting
• Phrased somewhat poetically, could be tightened up a bit

“It looked silken, inexplicably heavy on her slight frame.” So what?

• Does the detail of the dress fabric have to be explicitly stated?
• The last part of the sentence gives more hints about the character–good

“She looked almost overwhelmed with the folds of blue-green fabric.” So what?

• More character information, but this could be folded into the previous bit of description
• There has to be a better word for describing the color, and a synonym for “fabric”–or maybe take that out altogether?

“On this muggy, uncomfortable night of about 80 degrees, who would wear such a dress…” So what?

• Don’t need the “of about 80 degrees” part–too specific/scientific
• “Muggy” automatically conjures up “uncomfortable”–can trim that if need be
• “who would wear such a dress”–implies a narrator’s judgment

“…except for those who were rich enough to have a cool shelter to retreat within?” So what?

• More narrator judgment–negative in tone, so it provides a little drama
• Moves the story along to the next paragraph
• Can we get rid of the preposition at the end of the sentence? Please? LOL

The Result: A Better Paragraph (IMO)

Okay, now I have an idea of how I want to rewrite it…so I take my own advice, and reshape the paragraph entirely. Here’s my second draft as the “result” of this process:

“Her dress, with all its silken, heavy turquoise folds, shimmered faintly in the moonlight as it draped on her, just as the muggy air hung over all of us. On such an uncomfortable night, who would wear such a gown, except for those who were rich enough to have a cool shelter in which to retreat?”

I think this paragraph says more in less space, which is always good from a reader’s standpoint; the scene is, if possible, even more described now. I also think the phrases and sentences are a little bit more graceful and “finished”-sounding than the first draft. (But, as always, writing is subjective–which paragraph did you like best?)

Summary

When you take time to revisit and rewrite your own writing, you have to be honest about each word, each paragraph, each page. Asking yourself “So what?” after each section of your writing will alert you to ill-chosen words, weird extraneous information, and anything else that could distract your reader from your amazing plot and characters. It just takes being willing to step back from your work a bit and really seeing your writing for what it is, aside from being your hard work.