Tips to identify "noise" or "clutter" in your story?

Question

I'm a fan of minimalism so I tend to write stories which are as simple as possible. And sometimes I add elements that don't have a concrete explanation. I leave that to interpretation of the reader.Very often, I find myself wondering whether an element or scene is needed. Here are some of the things I do:- I ask myself: "Would the story change dramatically if I removed this element/scene?- I remove the elements/scenes that I find boring to write- I remove the elements/scenes that makes me become confused about the plotHow else can I identify elements that are unnecessarily complex or just irrelevant?

Answer 1

Hello,

It would be most effective at those time if you re-visited the central idea you're trying to express throughout your whole piece. Do the new elements/scenes directly make a point about that central idea? Ask yourself what aspect about that central idea the new elements/scenes are representing.

Editing is not something you need to be all-or-nothing about. If something makes you feel confused about a plot, don't remove the entire scene- rather, print it out and with a highlighter or a pen, mark which ideas and/or words are unnecessary, distracting, making you lose sight of the point you're trying to express. Then you can nix those parts, and read that which remains afterward. It's likely your idea will be much clearer.

Hope this helps,

S