How to murder our darlings ?

Discussion in 'Revision and Editing' started by Than_urb, Jan 23, 2020.

  1. SethLoki

    SethLoki Retired Autodidact Contributor

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    I like that, feel it applies. Of those I guess the skim reader's a jaywalker and the other's the guy at the crossing right-clicking the red man and choosing 'lookup'.

    I don't know the precise reason the sentiment toward darlings is so negative nowadays. Maybe it's because there's a lot out there that's fist-gnawingly bad; the lesser-practiced efforts of the hopeful and the aspirant, lost in delusion, pushing, too early, their stuff before the unwitting/un-wanting/soon the be confused reader. And so it gets read, dismissed, derided even. Attitudes are compounded and the jaywalker strides again. For me a writer should earn their 'poetic licence'.

    Bearing in mind the above it's understandable the no nonsense approach wins out — the propulsion of a story from beginning to end. And with that being so, has it being just so. Personally I want something with a bit of nonsense, some rhapsody, a bit of wax (highly buffed) on the lyrical. Modern life—bluergh—with less time to squander, mooting of points, and spotting of literary devices, for one to ponder—I get that that's why. Well I guess that that's why. But I like the charm that comes from a well-crafted elaborate piece. Purple, most often (imho), is the colour.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2020
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  2. Than_urb

    Than_urb Member

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    Never heard of him but I should probably take a look closer to his writing.
    And talking about it, there is that famous quote from Antoine De Saint Exupéry: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away".
     
  3. Than_urb

    Than_urb Member

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    I totally agree on that point. Readers don't want a linear story or (worst) a smoothy one. And that's probably why we love Bukowski (read Pulp if you didn't read it yet, a masterpiece of the twisted mind).
     
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  4. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

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    1. Congratulations

    2. Well... You know.... First thing is to remember that "kill your darlings" is only about text, not people.

    Sanelli laudalla-1424.jpg
    © Alan Aspie

    In real life, it's not your darlings but.... Sorry! My mind was wandering.

    You might get that mindset by taking some distance to your text.

    Let if boil few weeks in your shelf. Write something else in that time.

    Let your alpha readers read it. Ask them to write and make markings directly to the pages. Read it several times. Make your own markings.

    You can redo some structural work with it. Write a synopsis by cutting the story to the level of 2-5% of the whole story.

    You cant outsmart the hard work part of writing. "Writing is rewriting" really means several rewritings, not several polishing rounds. And to rewrite you must do your structural work in some part of your workflow.

    Take away everything you can take away. If you can take awoy something and you do take it away, you story will be better.
     
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  5. Solar

    Solar Banned Contributor

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    Train yourself to recognise good writing. Then do it.
     
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  6. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    that's not terribly useful advice because 'good writing' is itself a subjective thing
     
  7. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Nothing like distance to make murdering your darlings easy. Wait till you no longer recall how you felt when you were writing them. "Hey, I don't remember you. You're no longer my darling. Cheerio...."
     
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  8. SethLoki

    SethLoki Retired Autodidact Contributor

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    Ha, absence makes the heart go wander...

    :)
     
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  9. HeathBar

    HeathBar Active Member

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    A thousand times this:
    And it works over and over again (even on the same material). I read this everywhere when I completed the first draft (years ago), but didn't get it. But now, three years and a gazillion drafts later, I completely understand and endorse the need for distance. At least for me, it's extremely difficult to assess what I've written if I've just written it. I would also suggest trying to write a short synopsis of your work after you've finished (or write how you think it could be described on the book jacket). I wish I had done this earlier in the process, because I think it would have revealed certain structural issues that I otherwise didn't catch until after many, many rounds of edits and readers and distance and changes, etc.
     
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  10. Than_urb

    Than_urb Member

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    You all agree on the distanciation and it's really helping (thank you guys).
    I already spent 2 months writing on my second novel, waiting for feedbacks from my alpha readers. I am finishing my second version now and as I need a third one, I plan to spend the 2 weeks before reading (The Stranger from Albert Camus, On Writing from Hemingway...) but it sounds a little too short.
    What do you think about it ?
     
  11. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

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    Test it and you get the best answer.

    If you can't see your mannerism, it must boil more.
     
  12. Than_urb

    Than_urb Member

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    Hmm... Didn't think about it but definitely a good idea, thanks !
     
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  13. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    How do you murder your darlings? I think it's best to do it in a divine way and then forget they ever existed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2020
  14. al-khataei

    al-khataei New Member

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    I am saying from my personal experience. DON'T DELETE.
    I made four chapters on Mongol Golden Horde, and I deleted!

    Why? Just because I thought it was a waste.
    Now, I realise that I could have developed it later.
     
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  15. Que

    Que Active Member

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    Lots of really valuable advice in this thread. Yes, put your story aside for a while to acquire a more objective look at it. I put a novel aside for more than a year once, and when I read what I'd written I joked with myself, saying "Who was the idiot that wrote this drivel!"

    But yeah, it hurts to kill something you wrote that is just so darn good but doesn't advance the plot, doesn't contribute to your character's thoughts, feelings or motives, and so forth. My solution to the pain of murdering my darlings is to delete it from the story I'm writing and save it in a folder marked MY DARLINGS. Every now and then I go back to that folder and find one of those darlings that fits something else I'm working on like a glove.
     
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  16. GrahamLewis

    GrahamLewis Seeking the bigger self Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Contest Winner 2022

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    Not sure if this exactly fits in here, but here goes. With regard to personal essays, blogs, etc., I have realized that Unless you are well-known enough to write and sell your autobiography, no reader cares what you think. If you do your job well, write clearly and confidently, they will care about your thoughts and the thoughts triggered in the reader. So keep yourself out of the story, avoid self-references*, mannerisms and cuteness (which would encompass most "darlings"). Your voice will remain, like a ghost in the machinery, hinted at but not demanding attention.

    *Unless of course it is a blog or memoir or such, in which case I would amend the rule should be that "avoid self-references in the opening sentences." Because, again, the important part of any entry is the thought to be conveyed, not the fact that you thought it.

    After all, you're not a Kardashian or the President.

    IMHO
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2020
  17. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Good writing doesn't mean it's needed. A story is holistic, and even the best paragraph may not have a place in the story and needs to be removed. Amazing scenes get cut from movies all the time because they impact the overall pace.

    That's why it's kill you darlings. It may be great, but it's still gotta go.
     
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  18. Mumble Bee

    Mumble Bee Keep writing. Contributor

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    Personally i love deleting writing, I have to hold myself back. It's so much easier to wipe the board clean than to edit.
     
  19. Than_urb

    Than_urb Member

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    Wow guys, that's really interesting how you are treating the subject (which I may have forget for a while...) !

    I finished the 3rd version since them and after a 2 month break gonna again kill some (in the 4th and last one).

    I tried to keep a murdered darling journal but at the end, prefered to let them go freely...

    A piece of advice for all of you: I read Hemingway before the murderer (The Sun also rises) and it fucking helped too (even though your advices were better ^^)
     
  20. GraceLikePain

    GraceLikePain Senior Member

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    One thing that helps me is the idea of "deleted scenes" -- the stuff that doesn't go in becomes conversation starters. I pretend I'm famous and people care about my stories enough to ask about alternatives and such, and about how characters change over time. The things that got deleted are pretty much the answer to that question.
     

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