I look at entire chapters and think that they could be cut down to a page at most. I do like the sub-chapters, though. It makes it easier to track what I've sporked.

What he really needs is a proper editor. Or rather a relationship with an editor in which he actually listens to what she has to say - there are good editors who can't do much because the author they're working with is not interested in taking their advice. A good working relationship with an editor who's prepared to be straightforward with you is how you learn to recognise and rein in your excesses and cut out all the self-indulgent stuff that doesn't need to be there (from pages to chapters to entire characters and subplots). Instead, by the sound of it Paolini either has an incompetent editor or just plain doesn't listen to whoever he's working with, instead insisting that he knows best. Going on some of the things he's said in interviews I suspect it's the latter. "Essential story elements", indeed.