Eva Edits: Round 1 Done!

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The first round edits of my 443-page screwball magical realism are done. I now have four sticky note's worth of issues to address, one major plot point to streamline across the novel, and a genuine, good story.

I also have a few new stats (because we all know how I adore stats).

• Number of pages cut: 12
• Number of words cut: 3,728 (only 2 percent of the novel)

Since the goal was always to cut, at minimum, 10 percent of the novel, that means I still have 8,734 words left to cut. Hack and slash and let the paper run blue with ink. Or, in more constructive terms, eliminate all excessive words, verbosity for verbosity's sake, and all passive verbs and lackluster adjectives. Any way you word it, it means an intense second round of edits.

For those of you counting, cutting 8,734 word means cutting 20 words a page. And I'm feeling good enough about this novel right now that the challenge sounds fun.