You’ve been told your pacing drags. That the story feels unfocused. That it’s too long. But when you look at your manuscript, everything seems important. Every scene had a purpose when you wrote it. How do you know what to cut and what to keep?

Most writers approach cutting emotionally. They try to let go of scenes they love, or force themselves to be ruthless. But cutting isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about clarity. And there’s a way to diagnose what’s truly essential versus what’s just taking up space.

In this episode, you’ll discover three questions that help you see your manuscript the way readers experience it, so you can make strategic decisions about what stays and what goes, without second-guessing yourself or accidentally gutting your story.

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Episode at a Glance

[05:41] Does This Scene Change Anything?

Does this scene shift the plot? Does it shift the character’s internal state or relationship dynamics in a way that affects what happens next?

Did this conversation lead to a decision your protagonist wouldn’t have made otherwise? Did your character gain information that alters their next move in the scenes that are coming up?

Did the scene just rehash information the reader already knows? Did your character learn something new, but then continues on the exact same path, moving to the next event without making any tough decisions?

If nothing changed, if you could remove that scene and your protagonist would still do the same thing next, it’s not pulling its weight.

[08:00] Am I Repeating Myself?

Repetition is a good thing. You want to create patterns in your story. But repetition without variation is just repetition.

If you’re showing something multiple times, each instance needs to either escalate, complicate, or show change.

For example, is the loneliness getting worse? Is new information reframing it? Is the character’s response shifting?

If it’s just the same beat at the same intensity, pick your strongest example and cut the others, or orchestrate those beats strategically so each one complicates your protagonist’s situation.

[10:19] Whose Story Is It?

This question is about narrative focus. Whose story are you telling? And does every scene serve that story? What is your main character moving toward? For every scene or subplot in your story, ask, does this serve the protagonist’s journey or does it belong in a different book?

Good subplots and characters don’t just exist along the main plot, they complicate it. They create obstacles, raise the stakes, and force difficult choices. If you have scenes or character arcs that are interesting, but don’t connect back to your protagonist’s central conflict, you’re writing a different story within your story.

[12:34] What Happens When Your Start Applying These Questions

When you start applying these three questions to your work in progress, you’re going to see patterns. You’ll notice clusters of scenes that all do the same work. You’ll spot secondary characters who appear and disappear without affecting your protagonist’s journey. You’ll find moments where your story is treading water.

This is all good information. This tells you where the excess is. The actual cutting process, how you inventory your scenes, decide what stays and what goes, restructure after cutting, that’s the detailed work. That’s part of your writing and revision process. Identifying patterns, looking objectively at what’s on the page, and making strategic decisions.

Links Mentioned In This Episode

FREE Guide: 10 Questions Writers Ask (And What to Do Next)

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What to Cut From Your Novel and What to Keep: 3 Questions to Help You Decide

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