Being Self-Indulgent

Just finished reading On Writing, by Stephen King.  Lots of great information that relates to writing stories.  One line that really stood out for me was this:

Certainly I couldn’t keep it on the grounds that it’s good; it should be good, if I’m being paid to do it.  What I am not being paid to do is be self-indulgent.

Too often a speech becomes victim of a good story, a good quote, or a good humor line.  When editing that speech, you need to remove it if it is not contributing to the whole.