“To be a writer you have to be ready to kill your darlings.”
I’m sure every writer has heard that phrase, or some version of it. It’s a favorite of how-to-write books and writing professors alike.
Personally, I detest that phrase. It makes me shiver with horror. My darlings are my family, and I would rather lay down on a railroad track with a train coming than put them in harm’s way.
Of course, I know that the phrase has nothing to do with people, and everything to do with a writer’s tendency to become infatuated with his or her own writing. A witty turn of phrase or well-crafted dialogue can hypnotize a writer into believing that a mundane piece of writing is really a work of genius.
Writers need to be reminded, and often, that if the writing doesn’t move the story forward, if it has no real purpose or slows down the action, it has to go.
That’s why when I had an epiphany in the shower that my protagonist doesn’t make an appearance until page 10, I knew I had work to do.
So, I spent the morning rewriting the first twelve pages of a new screenplay. I deleted multiple pages, removing a number of characters entirely.
Goodbye irrelevant characters who don’t move the story forward! It was fun getting to know you, but your time here is done.
Then, because there was still too much clutter, I reduced the dialogue of another character and restructured what I had left.
Suddenly, there she was. My protagonist. No longer hidden by unnecessary characters and storylines, she timidly stepped into the action at the top of page 3.
Better. Much better!
Sigh. I still don’t like the phrase, but I guess there is something to this killing your darlings thing.