One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was George Bernard Shaw’s famous “Murder your darlings.” If there’s a part of your piece that you are particularly attached to – so attached that when an editor advises you to cut it out tears of rage come to your eyes – then chances are good you should cut it out. The more enraged you feel, the more likely it should be gotten rid of. And it’s not necessarily because it’s a lousy sentence or scene; more often it’s because it doesn’t fit where you’ve placed it and you love it too much to let it go and be where it needs to be.
Cut it out and paste it in a new document. I have a fat folder I call “Darlings.” Ruthlessly, I bury them alive – and maybe I’ll let them out some day.
Here’s a challenge: Have someone read something you wrote that you ‘love.’ The person should be someone fairly objective, but someone who understands what you’re trying to accomplish. Every writer needs a mentor or an editor or, at the very least, a friend.
Try to be open to what your critiquer says. Don’t bristle; close your eyes and LISTEN. Then let the response you got rest quietly for a few days before reading your piece again, hopefully with just a bit more detachment and clarity.
In this way, you can learn how to become your own editor. Murder your darlings.
