{"id":21,"date":"2011-01-26T22:45:16","date_gmt":"2011-01-26T22:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stoneskin.wpengine.com\/?p=21"},"modified":"2011-01-26T22:45:16","modified_gmt":"2011-01-26T22:45:16","slug":"bad-writing-advice-on-darling-killing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stoneskinpress.com\/index.php\/bad-writing-advice-on-darling-killing\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Writing Advice: On Darling-Killing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that I\u2019m editing a line of fiction anthologies and am duly credentialed to pontificate from both sides of the fence, I find myself succumbing to the temptation to lay down writing advice. Others work this territory harder than I do<\/a>, but from time to time I figured I should weigh in. Specifically, to debunk Bad Writing Advice.<\/p>\n

There are no rules in storytelling, just techniques that tend to work better than others. Much of the best work stretches or breaks the rules. Certain rules are really fashions: techniques that still work, but are no longer deemed a part of current style.
When a technique gets codified into a rule, and the rule becomes a maxim, the point behind the maxim can be forgotten.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s example: the oft-repeated idea that you have to kill your darlings. According to this theory, the element you like best about a scene is the one most likely to betray it. If you\u2019re really in love with an image, situation or line of dialogue, you should cut it, because it stands out too much. It\u2019s too obviously your darling.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that as you develop a piece, the element that first inspired you to write it might fall by the wayside as the work changes and grows. In that case, sure, you should cut it. But that\u2019s not because you love it. It\u2019s because it no longer fits its context.
This famous writing tip should be adjusted to say, \u201cMake sure that the elements you really care about serve the overall piece.\u201d But if you say it that way, it just seems like common sense, and not a mystical secret. More to the point, it doesn\u2019t sound like a mantra given from on high by a lofty advice-giver. It doesn\u2019t mess with your head, as many supposedly helpful pieces of advice are secretly meant to do, as part of game of dominance between guru and guree.<\/p>\n

If a piece of advice seems to sit on your shoulder like a hovering spirit, if you hear it in the gravelly tones of your voice of self-doubt, it is probably Bad Writing Advice. Find and heed its kernel of common sense, but defang it first.<\/p>\n

Quality creative work comes from a state of mind that balances, or alternates between, passion and perspective. Self-doubt is as big an enemy of perspective as unearned confidence\u2014probably more so. When making sure that your darlings fit their context, make sure you\u2019re not killing your passion.<\/p>\n

\u2013 RDL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that I\u2019m editing a line of fiction anthologies and am duly credentialed to pontificate from both sides of the fence, I find myself succumbing to the temptation to lay down writing advice. Others work this territory harder than I…<\/span><\/p>\n

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