: Re: Should "plot" or storyline be the main determinant of what goes into a story? In writing a screenplay, I created a bunch of scenes, with about twice as much material in total as I needed.

@Gonzalez219

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+1 Lauren's answer, so I will only add to it: Part of writing is the analysis you are doing to eliminate scenes, and it sounds like you can be objective enough to make the hard choices. The slush pile is not a bad idea, either.

Here is one more tool that can be helpful: Zoom out, then zoom back in.

Try to figure out why you love those scenes that don't fit, in a somewhat generalized or abstract way. For example, you love the zinger Alex used on Brittany, or you liked the cold-blooded reaction Charlie had to his brother David's crying, or you loved the imagery you wrote about in the park, or you liked the overwhelming peace Elaine felt standing on the ledge right before she let herself fall.

Although the scene did not work in your story, I presume if you love it then something worked in the scene. Find out why you feel that way, in a kind of generalized way. For example, "I really like a good zinger", or whatever it is. That is the ZOOM OUT part of this formula.

The ZOOM IN is to apply one or more of those generalization to some other scene that does fit in the story. Not word for word, but try to fit a zinger in, try to fit that surprising and incongruous cold-blooded reaction in, try to fit in a more poetic description of a setting or feeling. Try to use what you discover to transform other scenes into scenes you love.

Kind of a heart transplant; so something of that scene that didn't make it help make another scene a little more healthy.

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