Kill Your Darlings

Skeletons. Shriveled pumpkin vines. Grim reaper masks. Halloween has arrived.

Fall is a time for death. As morbid as it might sound, dying represents a powerful part of life’s natural cycle. The reality is that without death, there would be no change, no regrowth, and no fresh beginnings. How is this related to writing, you ask? Kill your darlings! It’s a long-held phrase in the writing world, and one not to take lightly.

All authors write prolific passages, esoteric phrases, lines of wisdom and earnest meanings. But really? Cut them. A reader wants to be led down a path but not told what to think. As valuable as your words may seem to you, they may not be all that valuable for the reader. Once a writer is able to cut their words, the writing gets better. It opens the possibility of new, better ideas. And if you must, cut and paste the perfect passage to a file. You can open it up and see those little darlings anytime your heart desires.

Quaint Cottages?

In an ideal world, a writer can create delightful prose while living in a quaint cottage by the sea. There, one can write about tulip gardens and sweeping landscapes.

Reality check.

Most of us write at either a desk filled with piles of paper or a kitchen counter crowded with dirty dishes. So, what can we do to find the details we need to make writing real when we don’t have the privilege of living in a bungalow like Hemingway? The Internet, folks.

If you need to visualize a country kitchen, Google it. Perhaps you’ve forgotten that in many such kitchens, people place baskets filled with potpourri and hang them from a shelf that’s been stenciled with wild roses. Your character lives in a metallic world? Research modern kitchens. Who knows? You may find a retro turquoise blender to add to your counter at home. Is your character having a bad hair day? Check out hairstyles.com. Too old to remember what a kid’s birthday might look like? All sorts of ideas will help you find your party nitch.

The effort to research will improve your writing ten-fold.  Everything’s at your fingertips, so take a look. Maybe you’ll end up with a new hairdo.