Decisions, decisions...

Well, after finishing the story about the Christmas program, I sent it to a couple of my writing partners, and most trusted friends. The general opinion is that it's good, but another of the Table Rock stories is better as a stand alone. The problem is, that story happens to be 2,700 words, or about a third longer than the contest guidelines. Is it possible to cut a third out of a story and maintain the essence of the story? It is 2 am, and I just pared it down to 1962 words. Once again, for someone who likes to write long descriptive passages, paring a story down to the bare bones is damn hard work. Now, I'll get those trusted friends and writing partners to weigh in on the side by side stories before a final editing pass on the final selection. Either way, I now have another story to add to the novel, and one will go in for the Aldrich contest. I'll let you know which one it will be soon!