I introduced someone to the term “kill your darlings” the other day. I shared how it is a term common among writers and “your darlings” are those clever, beautiful, provocative, and brilliant words, passages or chapters you write that, upon review, do not fit into your overall work. You must get rid of these words for the greater good of your creation.
This is a necessary process for any writer. While it may feel painful to trim your work, it is okay! Less is often more. Using more words does not mean the reader will be able to understand you better nor will it necessarily drive your point across better.
“Kill your darlings” may also sound scary because it feels like we are rejecting a part of us and we are scared that if we reject that, we will not ever have any more! However, more brilliance will come from wherever those words originally came. If nothing else, writing this daily blog has taught me that I will never be short for content, and neither will you no matter what industry you create for.