I've written the first draft of my novel, put it away while I wrote another book, now it's time to take it out and start rewriting.

Can anyone tell me how to tell what needs editing or deleting, and what to keep?

No one can give you a good answer unless we read your story.

We can't tell you exactly what to delete, but I can give you a few pointers:

Extemporaneous writing: it fills in the gaps, but when used in excess, can bog down the story line. Keep what is necessary; cut the rest.

When editing, you cut with your head. Initially, as you know, writing comes from the heart while editing comes from the head - and is followed by a swift knife... I mean, red pen! :)

Read it again with an un-biased eye. When you remove your feelings from the editing process, you tend to see what is unnecessary.

But, bottom line, YOU are the author. You will know what needs to stay and what needs to go.

Enjoy the editing process; it can be fun! :) As a writer, I understand (and sympathize with) the task ahead! Onward! :)

Thanks. I suspect I'll have to add stuff rather than lots of cutting. When I'm writing, I tend to concentrate on plot and characters, and get lazy about description. I can see all the locations in my mind, so why bother going into details? That's where I'll have to try to make the most alterations, but it's going to be hard knowing how much is necessary.

That's great, actually! I tend to be unnecessarily verbose in my descriptions; I'd prefer adding!

Personally, I would read with an eye for those "mind details" you described. Whenever you think that the description is "a given," make a note (don't stop reading), and go on. When you come to the end, you can determine what is necessary to the plot line and start adding details.

What is your story about?

Space vampire who gets stranded on earth. In her efforts to get back home, she makes a lot of friends and enemies and acquires a lot of new responsibilities. Not to mention some hot guys!

That's where the describing comes in. I can see the aliens in my mind very clearly, not sure how much detail average reader will need.

Hmm... well, I would say "detail, detail, detail!" Sci-fi is a hard genre to write; the more specific details about "alien races," the better.

In my opinion! :)