“Murder your darlings.”-Stephen King

In the re-write, it is tempting to get caught in the land of sub-plots. These leisurely strolls through your imagination that we follow to see where they go.

But the thing is: they aren’t an essential part of the story. They are a distraction. There is only one way to deal with them—KILL THEM. Stephen King says it this way: “Murder your darlings.”

These darlings are the things you chase, but don’t quite fit with the world you created—or distract from it. It is this mix of fluff and backstory. You cannot reason with a darling, you have to kill it.

Why?

It doesn’t add to the story. It doesn’t give insight to what the protagonist or antagonist does—it only distracts and deters us from the plot. It takes the reader off the path you set for them to somewhere less concrete. Darlings are unruly little things, and you must deal with them accordingly.

Kill them and get back on the path.

See you next month!