tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post7220903547972495470..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: Killing your darlings . . . say what?Julia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-71896743408837684542009-01-31T11:53:00.000-05:002009-01-31T11:53:00.000-05:00Oh Chris, how true, how true! My very first kill w...Oh Chris, how true, how true! My very first kill was (insert strangled scream)75 pages! It took me 3 days of pacing to come to terms with the suggestion and follow through. Thank goodness for computers where my loves can live on in their own private life--uh, file.<BR/><BR/>I have since found that when the flush of romance strikes with a phrase or paragraph(or entire scene!) that it's a warning Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-58617681222595036532008-05-09T16:50:00.000-04:002008-05-09T16:50:00.000-04:00I never think of it as "kill." I think of it as "p...I never think of it as "kill." I think of it as "park and archive." When I discover (or when one of my critique groups informs me) that a certain passage "doesn't quite work here," I cut it and paste it in at the end of the draft. I separate out all the little pieces of cut paragraphs with asterisks. Sometimes, the cut sections fit someplace else in the story, and I bring them back in. If not, Kathryn Lilleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05701558750790059307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-70293176279074657152008-05-09T14:12:00.000-04:002008-05-09T14:12:00.000-04:00Josephine, you have tons of courage. I find it re...Josephine, you have tons of courage. I find it really hard to cut something unless my critique group gags over it (which they sometimes do!) Way to go!<BR/><BR/>Ilana, I hang on to words and paragraphs too. Never know when they might fit elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>My problem is that I write "short" usually ending a manuscript at 55,000 words or less. Unfortunately, most publishers, including Five Lonnie Crusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14617936690870869287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-14411704463056721802008-05-09T11:20:00.000-04:002008-05-09T11:20:00.000-04:00As yet unpublished, but having edited my WIP 3 tim...As yet unpublished, but having edited my WIP 3 times, cutting the parts I loved but were not moving the story forward, info dumps, or way too much back story was hard at first.<BR/><BR/>I printed them out, and stuffed them in a drawer before using the delete key. Just in case, someday...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-89075858453181306882008-05-09T11:14:00.000-04:002008-05-09T11:14:00.000-04:00The difference for me that led to my finally getti...The difference for me that led to my finally getting published was developing what Hemingway called "a built in shock proof shit detector" - in other words, the ability to self edit, to be ruthless with my work once the first draft is done and go out on a seek and destory mission. <BR/><BR/>Death to my darlings! That's my motto. That's my mission.Josephine Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17952030380866201241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-58172405925029437862008-05-09T10:41:00.000-04:002008-05-09T10:41:00.000-04:00Leigh. Shriek! The WHOLE MIDDLE of the book??? G...Leigh. Shriek! The WHOLE MIDDLE of the book??? Gasp! My knees are weak. You are a brave gal!<BR/><BR/>Sheila, you've obviously found a good editor and they are worth their weight in gold. I have one, too.Lonnie Crusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14617936690870869287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-45619730004490256132008-05-09T10:34:00.000-04:002008-05-09T10:34:00.000-04:00Ooo. Killing it can be tough. I still haven't reco...Ooo. Killing it can be tough. I still haven't recovered from excising an entire middle of a book!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-21952344543567831752008-05-09T08:39:00.000-04:002008-05-09T08:39:00.000-04:00As a trembling newbie writer, I was prepared for t...As a trembling newbie writer, I was prepared for tyrannical editors with narrow little minds. I don't know if I was prepared to roll over and do whatever they asked, just to get the book into print. But I have been blessed with good editors. My current one goes straight to the holes in the story and makes constructive suggestions without harsh criticism--and she makes the book better. I feel Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com