So many words...

I'm at 16K+ and counting. I still have a little more of my short story to figure out.  And then I have to pare it down to 15K words.

Yikes.

I've already thought many times, "Does the reader need to know this?" or "Does the reader need to see this play out?" I've said no several times and skipped over the scene, referenced it in subsequent narrative.

But I still have way too many words, even with a little leeway.

Nothing to do but keep at it.

Unfortunately, even though it's the weekend, I'll be busy all day Saturday, so I'll be up extra early on Sunday to focus and I'll work for as long as I can on Sunday to make some progress in sorting through scenes and paring them down or beefing them up.

Anyway, I hope you have a love weekend, and...