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Here's Why You Need A Little Elphaba
“Kill your darlings” is an oft-quoted piece of writing advice. It refers to deleting anything from your writing that doesn't directly relate to your message or story. Even if you love
it.
Not to sound like a broken record, but every good writer is more committed to their audience then they are to their message or story.
READ.
THAT. AGAIN!
I hate to break it to you, but writing is not about you.
It’s all about the reader.
Everything in your book must work with one singular purpose: to serve the reader. If every part of your writing—every verb, every anecdote, every behavior—doesn’t serve your reader, even if you love them, then they’re darlings.
You must channel your inner Elphaba and kill all those
“pretties” that don’t serve your readers. Even their cute, little dogs, too. You must be merciless.
Ignore this advice to your peril because you risk losing your readers. Lots of them. Perhaps all of them.
And let’s be honest. As
writers with the heart of Glinda, we struggle killing our darlings. It’s so painful. Ohhhh, those beautiful sentences. Interesting stories. Profound insights.
Evaluating our work objectively can be difficult. We tend to view our writing through rose-colored glasses, so how can we tell what is objectively good for the manuscript and what’s objectively bad?
Three Questions and a Pro Tip to Lessen the Blow
A literary darling can be a word, character, passage, or entire chapter of your book. It’s something that a writer holds onto for sentimental reasons, like that box of old
computer chords I keep in my desk “just because.” They don't serve any purpose—some date back 20+ years—but Heck! Someday I may need that old VGA chord. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
They also clutter your writing. I addressed this in my last post.
Here are three questions—plus a pro tip at no extra charge—that will help you kill those cute little darlings:
Question #1: Is it redundant?
During the rough draft stage, your goal is to get everything onto your sloppy copy. During the editing stage you decide what to keep.
Once you’ve figured out what you’re trying to say in your rough draft, your job is to
clarify your message.
Clarity does not mean stating your theme the same way multiple times.
If two characters in your novel serve the same purpose, cut one out.
If two chapters in your nonfiction book overlap, either combine them or delete the chapter that isn’t as clear. I prefer the latter because it unifies your message while reducing your word count.
Redundancies consume the limited space and time your readers give you to convince them of what
you’re trying to say.
Question #2. Is it distracting?
As Dorothy embarked on her journey to the Emerald City, she faced plenty of distractions. The deadly poppy field. Those pesky flying monkeys. And of course, the Wicked Witch of the West.
The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion could have been distractions. Instead, she invited them to join her and pointed them toward the destination.
If multiple people dislike a part of your book, you need to listen. You don’t want to
be the only fan of any passage, plot point, chapter—you name it. Either rewrite them and point them to your destination or put them out of your audience’s misery.
If a passage, plot point, insight, or chapter only appears in your manuscript because you’re fond of it, take it out. It likely doesn’t fit with the rest of your book and distracts your audience.
Complex or lengthy sentences, atypical elements for the genre, and characters or tangents that do not directly contribute to your story weaken rather than strengthen your writing.
Professional book coaches can be helpful here. We can assist
you with that.
But please don’t ask family members for advice. They’ll only tell you what you want to hear.
Dig your heels out of the sand, take a swig from the cup of humility, and listen.
This is a tough pill to swallow, but a necessary one.
Question #3. Is it irrelevant?
Relevance here refers to your book’s message. All of
your writing must lead back to it.
Let’s say you have a beautifully written chapter that you absolutely love. Upon rereading it, however, you realize that it doesn't relate to the chapters that come before or after.
Perhaps the
storyline or message is tertiary (that means moderately but not directly related😉). It’s a darling for sure, but the chapter might better serve your audience in your next book.
Either way, don’t be afraid to kill your darlings. It's a necessary sacrifice for the good of your book.
When panning for gold, it’s all about the sifting. Most of what’s in your pan will not be gold. It’s your job to find out what is gold in your writing—and to remove what’s not.
Pro tip: Killing your darlings can be painful. But rather than deleting them for good, it might lessen the
blow by simply cutting and pasting them into a different document. I always create an "Extras" document for every chapter. That way you aren't killing them, you're just saving them for your next bestseller.
A book is valuable just as much for what it doesn’t say as what it does.
Absence helps create meaning. It allows what is written to stand proudly on its own. Your reader will be much fonder of a book with a concise message that flows well.
The best thing you can do is leave your audience wanting more, not less.
If you’re having trouble saying goodbye to your darlings, click the button below to schedule a meeting with me. I’m happy to share stories about how I’ve done it for my books. Then we’ll commiserate together.
