I drown readers in details. I admit it. My first draft of a chapter in a WIP novel of mine, which documents an event that gets the ball of the story rolling (or I should say, “apple” rolling…there’s a hint,) was absolutely saturated with adverbs and adjectives. Dripping. Revising it was one of the most painful editing sessions I’ve ever forced myself to undergo.

The “less is more” adage is something I’m still coming to terms with, and I realized it was my biggest opportunity for improvement when I began my MFA last year. It is incredibly difficult to find that balance, between wanting to describe everything I see, what my readers need to see, and what I can trust them to visualize on their own.

– andi