Who does the writing serve?
The part where writer ego gets going and things get weird
What does it mean to write and edit for your reader rather than for yourself?
A lot (and I mean a lot) of discussion happens in the writing world around who we write for, but this is not that. Nor is this a discussion about the need to write it out and write for your own sanity, because I get that, too, but again, this is not that.
No, this is simply about precision and not letting your ego wreck your work: when you read back through your work, are there sentences or sections you’re really attached to but that haven’t landed with your beta readers? And/or, sentences or sections that don’t keep driving at the point of the story? If so, then there is a good chance it’s a sentence/section written for the writer, not for the work, nor for the reader.
Which is not the end of the world, but rather a cautionary tale to be prepared to sacrifice your darlings, mercilessly cut the fat out of your writing in the edit phase, and at least be open to the possibility that the sentence that charms you to death might just be better said in a simpler way.
Trimming isn’t a word massacre, to be sure. Open a Google Doc or Word or whatever you use and save what you cut for something else. (Usually, the things that get cut have a way of becoming a point all their own, so be open to that, too. Sometimes, we simply try to stuff too much crap into one point. It happens.) Be ruthless, write tight and edit ego-free and in service to the work, not the writer’s ego.