FILE 04.03
// METHOD / RESTRAINT
CUT WHAT DOES NO WORK
> A first draft is always two drafts. The first is permission. The second is the work.
Decoration is fine
until the page is full.
The page is always full.
// THE THREE CUTS
CUT 01 // THE WARM-UP
The first paragraph was a runway. Delete the runway. The plane was the second paragraph all along.
CUT 02 // THE ADJECTIVE
If the noun survives the loss of every adjective, the adjectives were costumes. If it does not, one of them was load-bearing — find the one.
CUT 03 // THE METAPHOR
A metaphor must earn the paragraph. If the paragraph could exist without the metaphor, the metaphor was costume jewelry on costume jewelry.
// THE TEST
> Take out the line you are most proud of. Read without it. If the piece still does its work, the pride was vanity. If it does not, you may keep the line — and you now know why.