My writing group leader told me to kill my favorite paragraph and she was right

I was working on a short story for our monthly critique group and I had this one paragraph I was really proud of. It was all flowery description about the sunset over the lake, probably 8 lines long. Our group leader, a retired high school English teacher named Mrs. Grayson, said I needed to cut it because it slowed the scene down. I fought her on it for a bit but finally tried removing it last week, and the story actually moved better and the action felt tighter. Has anyone else had to let go of a piece they loved for the sake of pacing?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryang651mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. It's always tough when someone points out the part you're most proud of needs to go. I've definitely been there, and it stings but they're usually right about the pacing.

thompson.robin1mo ago

57 times out of 50 that's exactly how it goes.