Literary anorexia -- owoo

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Matera the Mad

Matera the Mad

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edit <anagram> diet

In the past several months, my novel has lost over 4000 words. It refuses to eat a single one unless I edit out two. Luckily I have a perpetual beta reader who monitors its vital signs, and when she sees any sign of fatal cutting, I strap it down and administer intravenous paste-backs.

So...how's yours goin'?
 
jodiodi

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Step into my nightmare
Mine won't even eat. I'm going to have to put a tube down its nose and feed it liquid nutrition as well as IV nutrients. My masterpieces need to grow. To live. Mwahahahhhhh
 

scarletpeaches

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My first draft is stealing all your words. It's bloated and overweight and currently weighs 126,467 words.
 
shokadh

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Matera the Mad said:
edit <anagram> diet

In the past several months, my novel has lost over 4000 words. It refuses to eat a single one unless I edit out two. Luckily I have a perpetual beta reader who monitors its vital signs, and when she sees any sign of fatal cutting, I strap it down and administer intravenous paste-backs.

So...how's yours goin'?
Click to expand...

LOL--my WIP has undergone liposuction more than once, bariatric surgery and is now undergoing hypnosis therapy for bulimia.
 
Delhomeboy

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JamieB said:
Mine's a twiggy little thing that I've tied down and am shoving HoHo's into. I seem to skip anything that's not action or dialogue. Second draft = descriptions.
Click to expand...

Don't use HoHo's. Those things have bad chemicals in them.

Oh wait, you weren't being serious.
 

Zipotes

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Mine's the opposite and regularly overeats when I'm editing. I wanted my first YA book to be 75,000-80,000. It was at 79,000 and each time I'd edit it would go up, now it's over 81,000. :rant:
 
Red_Dahlia

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JamieB said:
Mine's a twiggy little thing that I've tied down and am shoving HoHo's into. I seem to skip anything that's not action or dialogue. Second draft = descriptions.
Click to expand...


I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem. Granted, I'm only partway through the first draft, but when I look back at what I've written so far, I know I'm going to be doing the same thing for my edits.
 
maestrowork

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Mine is getting fatter and fatter every day. At a bit over 90,000 words now, it's nowhere near THE END. I'm not even done with Part I, yet. I have a feeling by the time I'm done with the first draft, the entire thing has to go on the Biggest Loser.
 
Delhomeboy

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JamieB said:
I don't know, there seems to be a sticky film of chocolate on my keyboard lately....ahh..the stress of revisions.
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:D I would be of the opinion that writers may be the most compulsive eaters in the world at certain points of their progressions. Nothing's better to cure the depression of thinking you work sucks than sucking down a nice, chemically-processed twinkie. Of course, you have to deal with the resulting sugar crash and despondency later, but at least you don't have to worry about it while you're actually working on the text.
 
MargoWest

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Mine gained poundage for awhile and then refused to put on anymore weight.
 

Ciera_

Um, mine is having its organs and limbs transplanted one by one and its skin ripped off and grafted back on. The stomach will be nearly last, and THEN I'll worry about feeding my MS.
And last will be the all-over plastic surgery. It's a gruesome process.
 
Shara

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I also have an anorexic WIP. First draft underweight by at least 50,000 words.

Second draft is putting some bulk on slowly, but I worry I am stuffing it with empty calories rather than any real nutritional content.

Shara
 
JamieB

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Ciera_ said:
Um, mine is having its organs and limbs transplanted one by one and its skin ripped off and grafted back on. The stomach will be nearly last, and THEN I'll worry about feeding my MS.
And last will be the all-over plastic surgery. It's a gruesome process.
Click to expand...


UGH, sorry to hear that. What a painful process...hope mine doesn't need any transplants. I'd probably go into denial at that point and leave it as is...start on (yet another) new project.

Yes, in addition to anorexia, my wip's have abandonment issues. Poor little things.
 
peachiemkey

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I tell my WIP constantly that it really needs to gain weight. Doesn't help. My WIP will go days, weeks without eating - just occasionally, I can get it to eat a small portion or two. I think it's worried that it won't be beautiful if it's not unnaturally skinny and imagined, that gaining weight will reveal ugliness. oh, what I shall I do.
 
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