Tip Tuesday: Kill Your Darlings

Slash and burn, baby! Take a machete and just slice through that bad boy. Editing your book may be even harder than writing it. You’ve got to put your critical glasses on; your editor hat. As writers, we can be superfluous. During the first draft, go ahead, be as wordy and fancy as you like. But when it comes down to editing, you’re going to have to get your hands dirty.

This is something I learned a long time ago when studying screenwriting, and fifteen years later, it still hurts. Your heart bleeds onto the page. Your characters say something so perfect, God himself couldn’t have written it better. But guess what, you don’t need it. 

Yes, I said it! I know, I’m the worst. The truth is, if the scene is not pushing the plot forward, you don’t need it, no matter how beautiful it is. As writers, we are actually builders. Since I’m a mom, I’ll use Legos. Each brick has a purpose. You build and build until ultimately you have some sort of Ninjago creature. It’s the same thing with writing. Each word is a tiny brick, and those bricks need to amount to something. They need to be working towards the final product. If they’re not, ax ‘em.