My writing advice opinion
Mar. 24th, 2026 06:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsDo not kill your darlings. Be on the lookout for places your darlings don't belong, and move them somewhere more congenial.
(Places they don't belong may include the final draft, and somewhere more congenial might be a private corner of your computer or your mind, but I find this way of looking at it much more helpful.)
I wouldn't be surprised if I've posted something to this effect before, but it would have been years ago, and the "kill your darlings" bit is a long-running pet peeve of mine. I feel like I've seen people literally interpret it as "delete anything you like too much," which to me sounds like a good way to squeeze the life out of your work. Also it seems to reflect a weird underlying "writing is for badasses" kind of attitude that I think is silly.
(Places they don't belong may include the final draft, and somewhere more congenial might be a private corner of your computer or your mind, but I find this way of looking at it much more helpful.)
I wouldn't be surprised if I've posted something to this effect before, but it would have been years ago, and the "kill your darlings" bit is a long-running pet peeve of mine. I feel like I've seen people literally interpret it as "delete anything you like too much," which to me sounds like a good way to squeeze the life out of your work. Also it seems to reflect a weird underlying "writing is for badasses" kind of attitude that I think is silly.
