What kind of writing ends up in my bucket of scraps?

In my previous post (Helpful advice on saving your scraps.), I explained how I became a bolder, faster editor by creating a section for scraps at the end of my documents. If there’s a sentence or paragraph in my rough draft that doesn’t quite fit, I no longer fret over whether to keep or delete it. Instead, I just cut it out and paste it into my list of scraps at the end of the document. If I change my mind later, I can always put it back in the document. What kinds of content usually end up in my bucket of scraps? Great question.

This isn’t going to pretty, but maybe you can learn from my mistakes.

Okay, this is a little like airing my dirty laundry, because most of the writing that ends up in my scrap heap isn’t very pretty. Nevertheless, here goes…here are the four main types of writing that I have to cut from my documents and toss in the scrap bucket:

1. Repetitive statements – Usually I don’t notice this at first. But when I’m reading back through a rough draft, I start to realize that I’ve said the same thing one time too many. Admittedly, a little repetition can be helpful for your reader. It reinforces key messages and makes them more memorable. But don’t overdo it. Your reader hasn’t got all day. Make your point and move on.

2. Too cute, too clever copy – I’ve written fluff that I thought was absolutely brilliant, only to read it the next day and realize that I was trying to show off instead of trying to serve my readers. I was striving too hard to be funny, or smart, or insightful. Instead, I should have been straightforward, simple, and helpful. Your writing can be personal without your trying to draw attention to yourself. Bottom line? If you write something to impress your reader, it almost always turns out to be junk. Throw it away before you embarrass yourself.

3. Complicated details – Often, I’ll write an explanation or description of something that is technically correct, but it just feels a little complicated. In my heart of hearts, I know I had trouble explaining it. However, the great temptation is to rationalize and leave it in my document anyway, because, after all, it is accurate. Don’t kid yourself. If a certain section seems slightly complicated or convoluted to you, it will be even more so to your readers. Be honest. Get out the knife. Cut the section. And find a more simple, straightforward way to explain what you mean.

4. Irrelevant information – Sometimes you’re reading a document, and all of a sudden you come across a passage that leaves you wondering, “Why did he put this here?” He put it there because he didn’t have the courage to scrap it. A paragraph may be incredibly interesting and beautifully written, but if it’s off topic, leave it out. Everything in your document should support your key message. (By the way, irrelevant information is the good kind of scrap. It often becomes the seed idea for a whole new writing project.)

What else should be scrapped?

Long, flowery descriptions. Gossip. Jargon. Personal criticism. Sloppy writing. Information that you think must surely be true, even though you haven’t taken the trouble to find out for yourself. Come to think of it, these kinds of things aren’t even worthy of your scraps bucket; they should simply be deleted.

Well, now you know what’s in my bucket of scraps. But what’s in yours?

What kinds of content do you find yourself cutting out of your documents? How do you make the tough calls about what to keep and what to cut? I’d love to hear back from you.