tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post8866653928370844797..comments2024-01-12T00:48:48.031-06:00Comments on Go Teen Writers: Writing Advice Examined: Should You "Kill Your Darlings"?Stephanie Morrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-82739734142996356042016-03-01T15:09:47.504-06:002016-03-01T15:09:47.504-06:00Thank you! Very much!! :)Thank you! Very much!! :)Rosie McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756806467175885197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-4295896825265881542016-03-01T13:56:23.885-06:002016-03-01T13:56:23.885-06:00Good for you, Rosie! I'm impressed that you we...Good for you, Rosie! I'm impressed that you were able to identify the problem like that.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-11942139608661640872016-03-01T13:55:51.976-06:002016-03-01T13:55:51.976-06:00I'm so glad!I'm so glad!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-16748027444805684502016-03-01T13:55:37.574-06:002016-03-01T13:55:37.574-06:00I'm glad I could help clarify. It befuddled me...I'm glad I could help clarify. It befuddled me for a long time too!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-80094154025033017752016-03-01T13:52:18.341-06:002016-03-01T13:52:18.341-06:00Very true. Sometimes, no matter how much it hurts,...Very true. Sometimes, no matter how much it hurts, you just HAVE to do it for the sake of the story. For example, the story I'm writing now originally had a very different plot. It was bigger than I could handle, and vague at best. I realized fairly early that it just wasn't working, so I salvaged my favorite characters and started again with a totally different plot that I liked better AND thought I'd be able to write. And it's going well so far, I'm happy to say! :)Rosie McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10756806467175885197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-20194097338548466372016-03-01T12:03:48.898-06:002016-03-01T12:03:48.898-06:00This explanation is on point. For a long time, I i...This explanation is on point. For a long time, I ignored this rule as well because I thought it was basically: "if you like any part of your writing, you're doing something wrong and have to throw it out." So...I'm not supposed to like my writing?! I love how you clarify, saying that loving a certain aspect of your story is not reason enough to keep it. Y'all are the best.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17102112870911606839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-55494316157079748032016-03-01T10:49:57.348-06:002016-03-01T10:49:57.348-06:00Thank you for explaining this!! It finally makes s...Thank you for explaining this!! It finally makes sense haha. Grace Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07864931544458385634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-29786325908656035452016-03-01T02:20:27.277-06:002016-03-01T02:20:27.277-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-57338176432048076612016-03-01T02:17:05.132-06:002016-03-01T02:17:05.132-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-53150279666510063932016-02-29T20:40:31.133-06:002016-02-29T20:40:31.133-06:00Wonderful article! I think you made an excellent p...Wonderful article! I think you made an excellent point: that it's okay to keep your darlings if they serve a purpose in the plot or keep the reader interested.<br /><br />Ellie | <a href="http://ontheothersideofrealitynew.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">On the Other Side of Reality</a>Eleanorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08016450998401859766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-64868435660044331782016-02-29T16:42:37.373-06:002016-02-29T16:42:37.373-06:00I had to kill one major plot element in my WIP...t...I had to kill one major plot element in my WIP...the original concept was centered on shapeshifters, but over time, as the magic system changed, that entire piece started to make less and less sense for the story until finally it had to go. (I usually end up reusing scene ideas that got nixed or characters and plot points from drafts I ended up not finishing, though, so I guess I'm not really killing my darlings, just putting them away for future use.)Elliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15338954886182223589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-48578739588673453802016-02-29T16:32:07.692-06:002016-02-29T16:32:07.692-06:00I imagine that if any genre came with extra darlin...I imagine that if any genre came with extra darlings in need of a killing, epic fantasy would be it!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-81942209410053047502016-02-29T16:31:19.138-06:002016-02-29T16:31:19.138-06:00You never know when you might need it!You never know when you might need it!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-74183234999433592212016-02-29T15:13:58.291-06:002016-02-29T15:13:58.291-06:00I haven't had to do this yet, but I suspect th...I haven't had to do this yet, but I suspect that by the time I finish my epic fantasy story I shall have to... Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09616906188229851218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-52025803096415448242016-02-29T14:46:44.543-06:002016-02-29T14:46:44.543-06:00I do that too! I do that too! Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03861384032480877924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-49777171893962221242016-02-29T14:16:24.173-06:002016-02-29T14:16:24.173-06:00I was about to comment something similar to Rosean...I was about to comment something similar to Roseanna. :) I give my darling scenes/lines a proper funeral, but it softens the blow and makes me think I'm not really axe-ing them, I'll just repurpose them later! I've not yet done it, but hey first time for everything. ;)Rachelle Rea Cobbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02252622175461113370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-14305139287315781742016-02-29T13:52:05.481-06:002016-02-29T13:52:05.481-06:00Thank you for sharing that, Amanda! That was the t...Thank you for sharing that, Amanda! That was the theme that I stumbled into as I wrote that book, and it's such a tender, personal one for me that I've wondered if I was trying to avoid it by having Ellie move!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-73672795841387613002016-02-29T13:40:55.291-06:002016-02-29T13:40:55.291-06:00This is such a good explanation of that concept! I...This is such a good explanation of that concept! I've definitely had to kill some darlings...the worst, I think, was having to cut several scenes I loved but didn't fit in with a revised plot. So, similar to what happened with you and Ellie Sweet. <br /><br />And by the way, book two was really powerful. It could've been a very different second book had she moved, and nothing's to say it wouldn't have been a fun one. But having her stay and face the consequences of her actions really impacted me when I first read it, because it applied so well to things I was walking through in life at the time. That's what real life is like, after all--you don't get to walk away from difficult situations. You have to face them. And that is exactly what I needed to be reminded of. :)Amanda Fischerhttp://todwellandneverleave.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-66877319150134773742016-02-29T12:16:51.656-06:002016-02-29T12:16:51.656-06:00When I wrote this, I was thinking of your anonymou...When I wrote this, I was thinking of your anonymous POV that you finally had to give up :-/Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-73347261539583456042016-02-29T12:16:08.382-06:002016-02-29T12:16:08.382-06:00Yes, it's hard to know when it applies!Yes, it's hard to know when it applies!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-89428572680046912312016-02-29T12:15:43.653-06:002016-02-29T12:15:43.653-06:00That's a very creative solution!That's a very creative solution!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-76439518969271918462016-02-29T12:03:48.062-06:002016-02-29T12:03:48.062-06:00One of the things I'll do when cutting a parti...One of the things I'll do when cutting a particularly darling scene/line/character, is just copy them into another file that I save separately. That way I don't feel like I've just killed them, LOL. Doesn't work with things like endings, but occasionally you can pull them out and rework them into a different story later. Or at least steal the really good parts. ;-)Roseanna Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02245767775900250399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-1226337566415517012016-02-29T11:57:49.097-06:002016-02-29T11:57:49.097-06:00Truly great advice, if subjective :).Truly great advice, if subjective :).starlightjason2https://www.blogger.com/profile/11371184169630869288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-17342634140848785032016-02-29T11:10:02.382-06:002016-02-29T11:10:02.382-06:00I had a character that wasn't important, but r...I had a character that wasn't important, but rather than removing him from the story I killed him off early on which actually made a motivation for a character that was pretty unmotivated before.<br />I also had to remove a scene because it was so pointless that it literally didn't affect anything in the story.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820137664285521182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-63521620884397515782016-02-29T10:39:48.408-06:002016-02-29T10:39:48.408-06:00If you want to keep them, you have to find a way t...If you want to keep them, you have to find a way to make them matter and push the plot forward. I think that's the only way to prevent them from feeling like random filler.Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.com