I have cut from 137.000 words to 97,000. A mere 40,000 words.
I am struggling to further reduce my word count to 85,000-90.000.
I have no intention of cutting more words to reach my target unless I believe it benefits my novel.
Do you have a word count in mind after your last thorough edit.?
My word counts begin off the scale and gradually come down to still commercially unviable and more use as a door stop after years of editing. Lol
For my first novel I gave myself a word count of 75,000 Knowing I could work up to 80,000 on the first draft.
Hopefully on the edit I will still be in the 70,000 to 80,000. I've read so many articles advising first time writers to stay in the bracket of 80,000 or below.
Hi Jennifer.
Like you, I did not start my novel with a specific word count in mind. An example of 100k is fine. But if I restricted myself to a word count I might rush the ending. There are many examples of authors who have made that mistake.
I can give two examples of excellent novels with low to medium word counts,
The Great Gatsby - F Scott-Fitzgerald. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne.
But as you say, Hemmingway is an excellent example. He has a unique writing style.
I like his quote, 'The first draft of everything is always shit.'