A-Z Writer's Toolbox: Hacksaw

A to Z Disclaimer:

Like all craftspeople, writers need to keep a bag of tricks handy. A set of tools for the job (writing), if you will. Some of these traits or tools are obvious--like the need to have a hide as thick as a brick, for instance. Some are not. This month, I've been challenged to do a post every day of the week (excluding Sunday) that begins with a letter of the alphabet. I'm going to use this challenge to examine some of those necessary writing tools, both conventional and not. Hold on to your #2 pencil, here we go!

NOTE: I've added a page dedicated to my A to Z Writer's Toolbox posts. I figured I'd soon have a bunch of these things and it'll make it easier for you to browse any of the letters you might have missed. You can find a link to the page under the, "MORE STUFF" heading at the top of the right-hand column of this page.

H is for hacksaw

I'm convinced that every writer who has ever attempted a novel has experienced some version of the following:

The first draft is finished! Victory horns sound in the distance, confetti falls and unicorns do a merry prance about your living room. Then you re-read it cover-to-cover for the first time and realize all you've really accomplished is that you've somehow compiled every writing mistake possible into a 350 page magnum opus of disjointed plots and bland characters. Plus, you've got a splitting headache (did they have to blow those damned horns so loudly?), confetti sticking to you in unmentionable places and unicorn poo on the good rug. Great ...

Thankfully, those drafts are usually never as bad as they seem. (Sadly, neither are they as good as they felt during the writing.) We're left with something that, if it were a house, would be considered a fixer-upper. It has good bones, and a nice floor-plan. However, if we're going to make it livable it's going to need some creativity and truckloads of polish. Heck, we may even need to take down a wall or three or add an addition.

That's why the hacksaw is such an important tool for writers. When it comes to editing and rewrites, we often need to dissect the novel piece by piece and place it under a microscope for critical examination. If something doesn't work, we cut it out. We might need to do some rearranging; after all, chapter 1 sometimes makes a better chapter 4, or maybe no chapter at all. You wouldn't try to fix a rundown home all at once. You'd take it room-by-room or project-by-project. Nor should you try to tackle a novel as whole.

It's going to take some elbow grease and you're going to get dirty, but when it comes to editing, the ability to hack your work into more manageable pieces is vital. 

So the next time you're staring down a completed, if slightly shabby, manuscript reach for your trusty saw. It'll make editing easier, and we all know how much fun playing with tools can be!

~EJW~