Four years. Eight drafts. Forgotten characters. Shrinking word counts.
The Falling Sun has always been a large novel. My aim is to resurrect the epic. A hard feat when we live in an age of low-attention spans and endless doom scrolling. Where people will binge-watch a tv series but be unsettled by a three hour film.
I could write something that would be criticised for being too long and then split it into two and be praised - and that's exactly what I've done.
But this is about my battle with that dreaded thing: WORD COUNT.
The initial plan was to merge Akira's narrative in the internment camps with his parents' story. When the first draft broke 400,000 words - yes, that's right - something obviously had to change.
There's a saying in the creative world: "Kill your darlings." For the first two years, this seemed impossible. Down to 330,000, but still a long way to go.
Then, I had to shelve The Falling Sun due to university. After a couple of months, I returned. Got the word count to 210,000. Left it for a few weeks, returned, made some tweaks, got some feedback, and I felt that the manuscript was there. I submitted it to various agents.
A month later, I hit the self-destruct button, thinking that the story was not good enough. I interrogated every detail. Streamlined descriptions. Cut fun but ultimately unnecessary chapters.
Now, I have a concise, even paced manuscript.
It's amazing looking back at what's changed. There's no more Tyron and Candice. No more bar brawl. And Yurushi has turned from runaway to heartbroken lover.
But the book is so much the better for it.
The power of editing, therefore, lies in patience and determination. If you think you have finished, shelve the project for a few months. Work on something else. Go back to the manuscript. If it seems terrible, change it. When you go back and can't see ways to improve it, and you cross your fingers and hope that it's ready, then it's time to let someone else look.
Nothing is ever perfect, yes. You might find yourself tweaking forever, yes. But remember that once something is published, it cannot be changed. So, create something that you are proud of. I cannot guarantee that in twenty years time you - or I - will not look back and go, "Why didn't I cut that?" or "Why didn't such and such do this?". But I can guarantee that you will write something to be proud of.
Have a good day!
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