Cut These 5 Scenes to Strengthen Your Novel ( Are your readers yawning through your sex scenes?)

Photo by Girl with Red Hat on Unsplash

Hello, and welcome to my blog. Today, I’ll give you some writing tips that helped me. I’ll tell you which scenes in a story aren’t necessary and why you should cut them. Each of the following slows the pace and diffuses the focus from your plot. 

Leaving in the wrong details leads to boredom. We don't want our readers to yawn like this sleepy feline. 

Let’s get to it.

     

 1.    Characters en route

Cut traveling scenes unless something exciting happens or the character needs a moment of reflection. Long journeys with elaborate description is boring. 

If the characters are having an important conversation, consider letting them talk at their destination. There are exceptions. If what they're saying builds suspense, don't cut the scene.  But keep it short.  

2. Chit-chat

Making small talk is painful for me. I don’t believe readers want to wade through paragraphs of sluggish dialogue. Stories must move the plot forward. Avoid anything that slows the pace. This includes consecutive pages of flirting. A little goes a long way. Also, delete mundane activites such as taking showers and eating. Unless something interesting happens, no one cares.

   3.     Long Sex Scenes

Less is usually more. If you're writing romance, stick with the standard guidelines. Research what readers expect from each genre. Know your readers and what they like. A friend once told me she read a popular erotic novel and 

after a few chapters the sex got boring. Who knew? Right? 

4.    Static setting descriptions

Long descriptions (more than a few lines) don’t advance the plot. Integrate setting details so the reader isn’t getting a laundry list that they'll want to skim. 

5.    Vague dream sequences

These scenes are distracting and confusing. Multiple dreams kill the suspense and hurt the pacing. When a story includes dreams, I might read the first one. After that, I stop. Even movies structured this way annoy me.

Now, what if you have fabulous descriptions or witty dialogue, and you’re finding it hard to hit the delete button? It pains me to cut lines I love from my own stories. But I pick out the relevant phrases for my work in progress and move the rest to a reference file. Sprinkle those lines into future stories.

I hope you find this advice helpful. This is what has worked for me. Are there any scenes you cut that I haven’t mentioned? If so, leave a comment below. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. 

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