“In writing, you must kill your loved ones.” – William Faulkner
This grain of wisdom imparted by an accomplished author is often misunderstood. This article will discuss how writers should properly understand this valuable concept and implement it in their work. Faulkner’s murderous-sounding choice of words draws immediate attention. It is obvious that you are telling the authors that they need to kill the things they love, and the chosen words actually represent the heartbreaking feeling that authors experience when executing such a task. The writing can seem harsh, and for writers, honestly, it’s a very personal rule and often difficult to follow. To properly embrace the concept, it is important to open your eyes to the actual meaning that is intended. Whether the written work in question is a novel, an essay, a dissertation, an article, or even a letter, killing your loved ones ultimately benefits readers. I am hoping to demystify this commonly misunderstood and misapplied concept of writing.
It may seem that this saying specifically tells an author to kill his beloved characters. This is often the meaning that is drawn, however, which is not entirely correct. Even popular horror fiction author Stephen King has reiterated this advice to writers with: “Kill your loved ones, kill your loved ones, even when the heart of your self-centered little scribbler is broken, kill your loved ones. “. Although King’s characters often die, which is more typical in horror than other genres, the point being made is not about the characters, but about entire segments of the writing in a play. Occasionally there may be characters that will be eliminated from the story if without the beloved segment they end up being completely irrelevant; This would be a collateral damage situation in which the author loses the character in the process of cutting off his loved ones.
Here’s one more quote that actually predates Faulkner’s by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, which I give here as a prelude to fully explaining the concept of Kill Your Darlings: “Whenever you feel the urge to perpetrate exceptionally fine writing, obey it … with all your heart, and delete it before you send your manuscripts to the printer. Kill your loved ones. ” His advice cautions against being so attached to a piece that it is submitted for publication in impulse based only on the writer’s high opinion of how cool it is. This boost can be something that lasts not just a few seconds, but actually for long periods of time. The idea is that there is an emotional connection that makes it expensive for the author, but this is not translated for the readers by default.
Here’s the lesson writers must learn from “killing (or murdering) their loved ones.” The point is to eliminate – effectively kill – the things in your written body of work that don’t serve readers well. This could be a complete piece of a story that has survived many revisions and editing passes. Something that is in the heart of the cherished writer, a true love, but is completely unnecessary and disposable. It can be difficult for an author to take an objective look at the writing that resulted from hard work on their part. It is difficult to accept that others see parts of the story in general as bad and not as the precious element that the writer liked enough to decide to finally include it. All parts of the whole should be scrutinized, not on the basis of the author’s personal attachment, but to consider the impressions of an editor and / or target reader prior to publication.
Sometimes a writer can reach a more distant state where he can identify a beloved piece that exists only on his whim if he allows a considerable period of time to elapse between writing and editing. This is a very similar concept to that applied in the visual arts. For example, many painters say that they do not reveal a work to the public, or perhaps they do not even consider it finished until they put it away for a few months and return to it without any newly perceived misgivings.
Exclude the wanted items that:
- Darken the theme or theme of the story.
- Regardless and does not serve the purpose of the content
- Read as prose rather than a true story
- They are redundant beyond intentional emphasis
Remember that this tip does not tell you to cut anything you like or enjoy from your job; if it did, the result would be heartless and probably unpleasant to all who read it. Sometimes you can save loved ones by making them more relevant to the goal of the story. Or if they seem to be part of a completely separate story, take them out of the current story and use them in a new one at a later time. Make sure all the elements come together and add value to the overall story. No one wants to feel like they’ve just taken a trip out of history while reading the story, an infuriating experience that can put readers off. It is easy to fall in love with our own ideas and certain word writing, so as a final act before publishing it is best to seek external opinions. After all, to kill your loved ones, you must first identify them.