That's how I've approached my current revision. Based on editorial feedback, I shaved it down to its essential elements. Several characters and their story lines went into the dog's food dish. Any function those scrap elements did serve (and they were alarmingly few) became the responsibility of other characters or objects. These transitions were so easy and obvious, I was embarrassed not to have seen them before -- I had an unnecessarily fatty fish. Or, rather, the fat was good for my story's development (for my understanding of it and its characters), but not for the reader's consumption.
Once I had a clean filet, I began to add a few things back. Not many -- just enough to give the reader a sense of umami without bloat. Complexity without complication.
The story I have now feels good: lean and effective, with full realization and forward drive. Like that pretty plate of salmon up there. Will it feel that way to people other than me? We'll see.
When you revise, do you mostly cut fat or add it?
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2 ate pie:
Really, I do both - add insome places, cut in others. IN the end, my word count is almost always the same (I'm a lean writer to begin with), though the words are really different.
Interesting that your word count remains steady.
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