Cut the runway and fix the ending first

Two structural habits recur across our workshop discussions. The first is cutting the runway: Troy, a writer in our community, advised cutting the first 10–20% of a draft to start closer to the actual point, because the opening stretch is usually the writer warming up.

You don't got enough room to work here, son — this piece needs one fewer page or twelve more.

Troy · Workshop discussion · June 2026

Fix the ending first

I pair the runway cut with Zadie Smith's habit of writing the first and last sentences first, to set a "north star." Another writer in our community, Ved, sharpened it into a procedure: write the opening that poses the problem and the closing that resolves it first, then "all you have to do in the middle is sketch out the steps."

Cut for emphasis

Cutting isn't only about runway. In a discussion of David Gessner's essay "Learning to Surf," one of our writers, Lois, singled out the principle that removing a true-but-off-theme strand is how the remaining strands gain force.

What you leave out shapes the piece as much as what you put in.

Try it

1. Delete the first 10–20% — start as close to the live wire as you can.
2. Fix your last sentence early, so you know where you're driving.
3. Cut true details that pull focus off your theme; see fund the attention.