Author Topic: 10-15% reduction in each chapter  (Read 1610 times)

guessingo

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10-15% reduction in each chapter
« on: July 29, 2010, 02:14:17 PM »
I just saw Brandon's interview on suvudu. He said he goes through all of his books and tries to reduce chapter length by 10-15%. Is this a common technique used by authors? Or is this more of a Brandon thing? Does Dan Wells do this? This technique strikes me as very time consuming. So I would think that authors who punch out books really fast don't have the time to do this.

I have read a number of bloated books that could have been helped with this.

Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: 10-15% reduction in each chapter
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2010, 05:34:37 PM »
Stephen King is probably the most famous writer to recommend the 10% cut. But yeah, it's pretty common.
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guessingo

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Re: 10-15% reduction in each chapter
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2010, 06:25:03 PM »
you guys learn this in college english courses ?

Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: 10-15% reduction in each chapter
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2010, 06:31:37 PM »
I heard it in a creative writing class in college.
All Saiyuki fans should check out Dazzle! Emotionally wrenching action-adventure and quirky humor! (At least read chapter 6 and tell me if you're not hooked.) Volume 10 out now!