tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post2307973436549545415..comments2024-03-26T15:49:05.333-07:00Comments on Criminal Minds: You Always Hurt the One You LoveJosh Stallingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913654176433125233noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-33037536618250423012019-06-22T23:10:25.109-07:002019-06-22T23:10:25.109-07:00simplicity and freedom from desires open the door ...simplicity and freedom from desires open the door of all accomplishment for a seekar Lalit Chaudhrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16428442647232576017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-41659362514122407132019-06-20T12:30:09.490-07:002019-06-20T12:30:09.490-07:00The same topic is current in visual art circles ri...The same topic is current in visual art circles right now because a previously unknown painting by Monet, over which he had chosen to paint a different one, has been literally uncovered by a conservator. But Monet chose to paint over it because he didn't like it. Stretched canvas being a lot more expensive than paper, many artists re-use the medium rather than trash it. It was a 'darling' he decided to kill. I'm just glad that if I decide a piece of writing doesn't reflect the best I can be, all I have to do is hit Delete!<br />Susan C Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18225627756540127032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-4175872290698331242019-06-20T10:22:34.853-07:002019-06-20T10:22:34.853-07:00I dig your take, Jim. I think some people out ther...I dig your take, Jim. I think some people out there misinterpret this maxim, and it is often used as advice that is misapplied.<br /><br />If it doesn't deepen character or setting, or move the story forward somehow (see how purposefully broad that is?), my own editing process is that it might have to go . I always thought of "Kill your darlings" as an addendum to that self-imposed guideline, as in "This is true, even if you really love the passage."<br /><br />Not every work requires such a sacrifice. And you're right, no one should dictate writing rules to someone else. I'm fonding of saying that if your process works for you, it's a good process.<br /><br />One thing I've never heard before is your analogy/comparison to other artistic pursuits -- songwriting, painting, cooking, etc. And it's brilliant. I also think it can help people understand where the 'kill your darlings' mantra has some merit, and where it doesn't. <br /><br />When perfecting a dish, if a cook loves onion, but oninion doesn't work in this dish because it overpowers the balance of the other flavors, then s/he might want to kill that darling (or cut it back)...IF that balanced taste is what s/he is striving for. If s/he loves onions (and who doesn't, really?), and this is a dish with strong oninion flavor, then that's the dish, and leave the ingredient as is. <br /><br />I once cut about thirty thousand words from a 150K word book. They were flashback segments, and just absolutely killed momentum. Believe me, those were some darlings, and they died a reluctant death. Two of the three characters with flashbacks had their's integrated into the present as brief recollections. One (the villain) still got a flashback because I found a way to mitigate the momentum issue. But it was still a brutal death.<br /><br />But...in a stroke of Ziskinian magic, I was able to use one set of the deleted flashbacks as part of a short novel, Chisolm's Debt. So these darlings were resurrected. Basically, it was a zombie book, from a craft perspective.<br /><br />Anyway, your post obviously fascinated me -- look at me ramble.<br /><br />I'm off now to read your linked blog posts.Frank Zafirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846847831614880053noreply@blogger.com