Wordcount and Cutting

I was looking over a scene I'd written previously that had a couple of conflicting bits. At the time I thought I'd tweak it so it all fit but trying to fix it means contradicting a small detail in Guardian of Honor. Even though I'm probably the only one who cares, I can't do that. And at the time I wrote it, I couldn't bear to cut some of the words...or work on it further. Obsessing with wordcount can definitely get in the way of good writing.

So what I do is make my wordcount, finish the book (polishing along the way) and then go back and revise, this usally means tightening. I was a little worried over Heart Quest's word count, but after a major revision it turned out all right.

Moral of the story. CUT! Tighten. Make your manuscript the best you can. If a beautiful descriptive sentence mucks up the rest of the scene or slows the pace, save it to insert somewhere else, but CUT it from where it won't work.

And may you not obsess about wordcount today.
Robin