Throwing Away Words

Have you ever experienced wishing you could unsay something you've uttered in haste, without thinking, or in temper? Luckily writing helps you do just that, but it can often leave the feeling of the former scenario. 

Writing is often hard. Thinking up words and writing them down takes mental energy and time. Throwing them away can cause me doubts such as am I sure this is the best thing for the story? Have I deleted wording? Yes! Not only paragraphs but sections of numerous pages. Of course, the decision to remove wording is because I think it will make a better, more unified story. Not a few word changes in a sentence for clarity, but discarding several sentences, paragraphs, or even pages because they do not add to the reader's knowledge of the character, the plot, or the setting. Leaving those sections of wording in, no matter how large or small, makes the story ramble and may create disinterest in the reader so they quit the story. 

The writing process requires me to think about the story's purpose. Thoughts like: Where is the story going? Does this section add understanding of the character or expand their character? Or does this character need more clarification or purpose? Are they needed? Sometimes it raises the question should I change the plot and purpose?

Either in the writing process or editing process, when a section slows my reading I ask myself what is its purpose? How does this wording affect the plot or the character development? Or does this wording add to the setting?  

I do keep ejected wording in a separate document just in case I change my mind, but I have discovered I usually don't. I have never thought whether that wording might lead to another story or work in another one in progress, but maybe I should have. 

When the words involved do not apply to the plot, setting, or to the development of the character, it's just wordiness. In that case, it's better for the story and for the reader to get rid of it.

Anne Stenhouse 

Dr. Bob Rich 

Skye Taylor 

Connie Vines 

Marci Baun 

VictoriaChatham 

Beverley Bateman 

Fiona McGier 

Helena Fairfax 

Judith Copec

In Defense of Home World Aginfeld

One reader's comment about Home World Againfeld called the story trash and spoke of repeated rape of the heroine character because she was forced into the marriage, and when the female said she loved her husband, it was a case of Stockholm Syndrome, plus that the colony should have been annihilated. Well, okay, everyone has the freedom to voice their opinion. I have no problem with that… I also have that freedom.

My science fiction stories are often laced with facts from history, and how, if something has happened once, it can happen again. 

Yes, the heroine, Alix, is forced into marriage. She agrees because she is under a death sentence for robbery. Today the United Nations (UN) and many countries state that forced marriage is a type of slavery where unwilling participants are joined in a binding ritual. I believe this.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 by the UN General Assembly and according to Wikipedia, "Is an international document that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. It was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France." Since then the UN Human Rights Council in 2013 has adopted documents against childhood marriage, or an early or forced marriage. 

However, forced marriage still happens in many places today, including Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. And, while forced marriage is now banned in the United States and many European countries, it still happens here according to the National Consumers League. So far, no existing country has been decimated because of this issue.

Same with slavery, the first slaves arrived in the North American continent in 1619 at Jamestown, Virginia. Slavery was a major issue of the Civil War and was abolished on September 22, 1862), which led to the 13 Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even that was delayed in Texas until June 19, 1865, which became the Juneteenth celebration. While it was abolished, racism still remains a huge problem. Some of it resulting from slavery and racial profiling. And slavery is still prevalent in the U.S. in the sex trafficking industry. This only goes to show you that what has happened in the past can reemerge. Those types of circumstances are clearly defined in the story Home World Aginfeld.

So why is it happening in the story of Home World Aginfeld? Didn't the reviewer read the story? The colony is under attack by the Colonial Pact, the very company Earth governments established to help supply colonies so they could survive on alien planets until the population could bioform their world into a living outdoor habitat. The Colonial Pact stored some of the colony's human embryos until Aginfeld's population could leave their ten constructed habitats. After the embryos were requested back by Aginfeld, within years the colony knew the embryos had been altered, causing sterility. Now the colony's death rate is higher than the birth rate. As the planet is nearing a finished bio-formed world, the Colonial Pact is waiting and instigating problems that will lead to the colony's dying out... meaning the Colonial Pact will claim and sell the planet's land for staggering profits.

Yes, the heroine was forced into marriage, but she also initiates change within the colony. In the end, the heroine's husband lets her go, but she chooses to return.

Lastly, if past problems and situations are not exposed in writing, whether in fiction or non-fiction or if the situations are wiped from history's recall, their consequences will be forgotten—until they reoccur.