Writer problem #42 Killing your darlings

By Corbyn · Nov 11, 2015 · 987 · 8
  1. Writing Tanglewood has marked a lot of firsts for me. It's the first time, I've had multiple POV's from more than two character's in a story. It's the first time I've written in first person for more than one character. It's the first time I've had a plot to go on. Not just a novel idea, but a full on fully thought out plot. It's the first time I've been able to do a lot of world building and not gotten bogged down. It's also the first time I've had a character that's so memorable, that everyone likes them, and I kind of do to. Which brings me to the topic of this blog.

    Killing your darlings.

    I believe it was Stephen King, in his book On Writing, who said don't keep your darlings, kill them. Or something to that effect.

    I've never been able to do that in my fiction before. I've tried to before, but that particular character at the time was a trickster and managed to get out of all the fun creative ways I tried to off him. It made me really hate him for it... But I still have people ask me about that character to this day.

    In the case of Tanglewood, I have a very memorable character, who will be dying. I know this character is going to be memorable because it's one of the few that I don't have to think about. He's just there. Like an old friend you haven't seen in a long time. I just see him, clear as day.

    Because I feel this way about that character, I know he has to die. But I find myself dreading killing him off. I need his death to mean something, not just for the story, but to be as epic and out there as he is.

    Because of that, my nano word count has suffered a bit. I'm off by about 200 or so words a day, and so I'm a little behind. Why didn't I just skip that step and get on with another chapter? Because I knew if I did that, I wouldn't kill him off. I'd try to get him through to the end, and that's not what this story needs.

    So, tonight when I get home, he must die, and the story must go on. I'm just going to have to buckle down, and make myself do it.

    So yes fellow writers, Stephen King is probably right. Kill your darlings, but make it count.

    -Write on! -Corbyn

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  1. Imaginarily
    Does it count if they don't stay dead?
    Imaginarily, Nov 12, 2015
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  2. Corbyn
    As long as it moves your plot along, or is central to the characters growth in some way..... yes! :p
    Corbyn, Nov 12, 2015
  3. Tenderiser
    His advice is literally to kill any character you like? :/ Was he talking exclusively about horror? Even in that case... terrible advice.
    Tenderiser, Nov 14, 2015
  4. Corbyn
    No, not specifically to kill characters you like... it applies to chapters or groups of txt you love, that might not actually help your plot, or characters. In my case, at least right now it's a character issue.
    Corbyn, Nov 14, 2015
  5. GuardianWynn
    The advice as I remember it, is to be wiling to abandon ideas that are bad. Darlings is not exactly a character in this sense but a concept. Killing your darlings is meant to be the willingness to make creative choices that make the story better, even if you personally prefer your darlings. Because selling a book is about selling to a general audience. So choices you personally prefer may weaken the story to said audience. If I recall correcty. Research is not strong suit. lol
    GuardianWynn, Nov 15, 2015
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  6. Imaginarily
    Ah, adaptability. An invaluable skill. :-D
    Imaginarily, Nov 15, 2015
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  7. GuardianWynn
    Killing my darlings is something I have done. Tends to not be characters but moments. Pieces of plot I love. Pieces of plot I think people will love, but sadly bad because my characters I don't think could realistically reach those story points. So if I had to change the characters, or the plot points. The choice wasn't that hard. lol
    GuardianWynn, Nov 15, 2015
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  8. Corbyn
    Wynn is right, but in my case it's more character driven as my most memorable characters tend to steal the show so to speak. So I decided in this case the guy has to go.
    Corbyn, Nov 15, 2015
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