Editing
When a favourite passage no longer belongs
Test a cherished passage by what it contributes to this book, then consider placement and scale before cutting it.
Follow the hands
A character enters with a mug in one hand and a phone in the other, opens a locked door and catches a falling folder. The sequence may sound energetic while quietly requiring an extra hand. Read physical action one movement at a time. Ask what each person holds, where objects rest and what must happen before the next action becomes possible.
You do not need to narrate every transfer. A brief reference to putting the mug down can be enough when its position matters. Elsewhere, the reader can reasonably infer ordinary movements. Concentrate on actions that affect tension, evidence or later events: a key being handed over, a weapon left within reach, a letter hidden in a pocket.
Keep a short scene record for objects with continuing significance. Note who possesses them, their condition and their last established location. If a damaged watch becomes evidence three chapters later, its damage should not disappear during an intervening description. Ordinary furniture does not need an inventory unless the story depends on its arrangement.
Sketch the space that constrains the action
A rough floor plan can reveal difficulties that prose conceals. Place doors, windows, stairs and the objects characters interact with. Trace the route through the scene. Could someone see the entrance from that chair? Would a person crossing the room pass the concealed document? Is an apparently private conversation within another character's hearing?
The sketch is a checking tool, not material you must explain to the reader. Include spatial details when they help someone understand an action or anticipate a consequence. A room description that lists every wall can slow a scene without making its crucial movement any clearer.
If the location changes between scenes, record the change that matters. A chair pulled in front of a door, a curtain closed or a light switched off can alter later possibilities. Weather and time may also change visibility. Check what the viewpoint character can perceive under the conditions actually established, rather than the conditions you remember imagining.
Inspect the gaps between scenes
Continuity often breaks during cuts. A character ends one scene carrying a bag and begins the next searching for it, with no indication that it was misplaced. Decide whether that absence is intentional. If it is a clue, the reader needs enough information to recognise its significance later. If it is an oversight, repair it with the smallest clear action.
After revisions, revisit any scene whose entrance, exit or location changed. Moving a conversation to a car can invalidate a gesture written for a kitchen. Cutting a minor character may remove the only person who could have delivered an object. These are structural consequences, even though their repair may require only a sentence.
Finally, read the sequence at normal speed. Accurate stage directions can still be laborious prose. Retain the details that let readers construct a coherent action and remove mechanical explanations they can supply themselves.
