by Andrea Christenson, @AndreaC_Author

I was recently talking with a friend about her tomato plants. She described to me the beautiful fruit she’d already harvested. Then she said something even more interesting. “The tallest, fullest plant in my garden doesn’t have any tomatoes on it, just one little flower that I don’t think is going to make it. The ones giving me all the fruit are short and stubby.”

Friends, that plant couldn’t set on any fruit because it was too busy making a show if itself. Sure, from a distance it looked amazing—big and healthy. But it poured all its energy into its flashy leaves and long stems and forgot about the reason it existed in the first place—to produce fruit.

Sometimes I find myself doing the same thing in my manuscripts. I want beautiful sentences, and metaphors that will stick with people. But, I miss the point. Maybe the carefully crafted sentence I’ve just written doesn’t do anything for the overall scene. Maybe the metaphor doesn’t even work. I recently cut out a snowflake metaphor because my editor rightly pointed out that it connoted softness and gentleness and the mood I was going for was the exact opposite!

If I’m not carefully editing my scenes can be full of words and even beauty, but no actual substance—no fruit.

How can you avoid being all flash and no function? Here are three questions I ask myself.

1. Does this sentence (or paragraph, or scene) move the story forward?

In other words, does the piece you are evaluating add anything to the story or is it just filler?

2. Does this sentence match the rest of your work?

I am often guilty of trying to add in one or two unnecessarily flowery sentences just because they sound beautiful. The phrase “kill your darlings” always comes to mind when I cut those out of the manuscript.

3. Is this sentence redundant?

Another one I’m fully guilty of—overwriting. I fall prey to the fear that my readers won’t “get” what I’m trying to say, so I say it again, and again, and… you get the idea. Follow my advice and not my example. Get rid of redundant sentences.

With careful attention and some heavy pruning, my friend could coax that tomato plant to produce some beautiful fruit just perfect for a delicious summer supper. And, with some time and attention to the superfluous parts of our manuscripts, we can encourage the most wonderful fruit in our stories, and ultimately in the hearts of our readers.

Go forth and prune!

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Hangin’ by a Moment

He just wants to erase his past. She can’t seem to escape hers. But facing it might put their future in jeopardy.

The day Jack Stewart walked out of jail, he vowed to keep his conviction a secret. The whole thing was just a terrible mistake, and he did his time. Now he wants a new life in a sleepy town where no one knows his name. Deep Haven is the perfect place to start over as a chef. The last thing the former pararescue jumper wants is to get involved. But when Boone Buckam—the guy he owes for getting him out of the slammer—asks for help, how can he refuse?

Colleen Decker has already escaped evil once—as a teenager, she was kidnapped by a murderer. But she’s put all that behind her as a trauma nurse in Minneapolis. Or maybe not, because a freak mistake in the ER sends her past crashing down on her. She needs a timeout in her hometown of Deep Haven. She doesn’t plan to stay—even when she’s roped into the job of flight nurse for the town’s Crisis Response Team chopper. Colleen’s not sure why she’s drawn to danger, but she’ll be safe enough—after all, she’ll need training, and her teacher is a handsome former pararescue jumper. What could go wrong?

When Jack said he didn’t want to get involved, he especially meant his heart—but being with Colleen feels like a fresh start. He’ll even climb aboard a chopper again, despite his vows. They’re headed for a happy ending…

But secrets never stay buried in a small town. And when disaster strikes one snowy night, they’ll both have to decide if the past will destroy them…or if it just might lead them home.

Cozy up to this perfect Deep Haven drama about discovering a season of second chances.

Andrea Christenson lives in Minnesota with her husband and two daughters. When she is not busy homeschooling her girls, she loves to read anything she can get her hands on, bake bread, eat cheese, and watch Netflix—though not usually all at the same time. You can connect with Andrea on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on her website www.AndreaChristenson.com