Deleted Book Text
Over the weekend, I watched part of the first Austin Powers movie for an important reason. It got stuck in my parents’ DVD player. Funny side story: they have no idea how it got in the player or where it came from. Eventually, I removed the DVD, but not before watching the deleted scenes.
Some were interesting, and the rest were so-so. My conclusion was that the editor made a good decision to delete them. Why? It is challenging to visualize action and tempo when writing a script. Clearly, the scriptwriter had great intentions, but actually viewing the scenes shows they did not align with a snappy movie.
This got me thinking about the material I cut from my books. The worst offender is my second, where I needed to delete several pages from the first chapter. This is because I unintentionally made the main character look like a know-it-all. In the fifth chapter, I cut several paragraphs about trying to communicate via radio. While I really enjoyed writing it, that scene threw a bucket of cold water on the plot. Fun side note: The concept behind those paragraphs was the spark that inspired the entire story.
The Austin Powers deleted scenes got me thinking: “Would readers want to read my discarded material?” I have never encountered a book with deleted sections. I have also looked at several authors’ webpages and did not see any deleted material.
The closest equivalent is when somebody discovered the first draft of a mega-famous book. I suppose a select few readers cherish these rough documents, but ordinary readers would never seek them out. I suspect this limits publishing a first draft to the absolute top authors.
Why? A book differs vastly from a movie. Many people have reviewed and updated the script before filming begins. As a result, the deleted scenes look like polished gems. The first draft of a book is a mess (at least in my experience) and only represents a window into the author’s chaotic initial thoughts and their writing process.
Well, I could be the first author to include a deleted chapter. The problem is that readers will not expect this addition and would not know what to do with it. “Why did Bill write about X after the book was over?” Also, I do not wish to air my dirty laundry; I deleted those sections for a reason. And nobody has ever asked, “Hey Bill. Do you have any deleted material I could read over?”
Yet, there is hope for those deleted sections. After a super famous author like Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien passes away, his relatives allow his material to be refreshed or used as the basis for new works. I suppose that is a valid use, but certainly not what is going to happen to my deleted words.
What about deleted articles? Over the years, I stopped working on three because they were going nowhere, and I felt putting in more effort would be a waste of my time.
Would this be an interesting topic to explore? For this article, I looked at my backup files and located these articles. The ideas were not focused, and it is clear why I stopped working on them. Well, should I share those topics to give you some idea of what goes on inside my bonkers head? Errr, no.
I continue to find it fascinating when I locate something that authors should not write about. What am I going to stumble across next? Who knows. I just hope I do not discover it by a bad review.
You’re the best -Bill
December 22, 2021 Updated May 09, 2026
Some were interesting, and the rest were so-so. My conclusion was that the editor made a good decision to delete them. Why? It is challenging to visualize action and tempo when writing a script. Clearly, the scriptwriter had great intentions, but actually viewing the scenes shows they did not align with a snappy movie.
This got me thinking about the material I cut from my books. The worst offender is my second, where I needed to delete several pages from the first chapter. This is because I unintentionally made the main character look like a know-it-all. In the fifth chapter, I cut several paragraphs about trying to communicate via radio. While I really enjoyed writing it, that scene threw a bucket of cold water on the plot. Fun side note: The concept behind those paragraphs was the spark that inspired the entire story.
The Austin Powers deleted scenes got me thinking: “Would readers want to read my discarded material?” I have never encountered a book with deleted sections. I have also looked at several authors’ webpages and did not see any deleted material.
The closest equivalent is when somebody discovered the first draft of a mega-famous book. I suppose a select few readers cherish these rough documents, but ordinary readers would never seek them out. I suspect this limits publishing a first draft to the absolute top authors.
Why? A book differs vastly from a movie. Many people have reviewed and updated the script before filming begins. As a result, the deleted scenes look like polished gems. The first draft of a book is a mess (at least in my experience) and only represents a window into the author’s chaotic initial thoughts and their writing process.
Well, I could be the first author to include a deleted chapter. The problem is that readers will not expect this addition and would not know what to do with it. “Why did Bill write about X after the book was over?” Also, I do not wish to air my dirty laundry; I deleted those sections for a reason. And nobody has ever asked, “Hey Bill. Do you have any deleted material I could read over?”
Yet, there is hope for those deleted sections. After a super famous author like Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien passes away, his relatives allow his material to be refreshed or used as the basis for new works. I suppose that is a valid use, but certainly not what is going to happen to my deleted words.
What about deleted articles? Over the years, I stopped working on three because they were going nowhere, and I felt putting in more effort would be a waste of my time.
Would this be an interesting topic to explore? For this article, I looked at my backup files and located these articles. The ideas were not focused, and it is clear why I stopped working on them. Well, should I share those topics to give you some idea of what goes on inside my bonkers head? Errr, no.
I continue to find it fascinating when I locate something that authors should not write about. What am I going to stumble across next? Who knows. I just hope I do not discover it by a bad review.
You’re the best -Bill
December 22, 2021 Updated May 09, 2026
