"Kill your darlings" only applies if you're holding onto something that actually hurts your story. But jerks sometimes use "kill your darlings" as a weapon to try to break you. Don't wantonly kill what you love the most about your story. That's why you're writing it. Make it work.
lately iâve been seeing a ton of people *aggressively* failing to understand that âkill your darlingsâ is specifically about like.. that scene you really like that doesnât actually add anything, ruins the flow, etc..
and sometimes you canât keep *every* joke, even if theyâre all funny!
Yes! That âI love this exchange but it doesnât fit in where the conversation is goingâ or âthis scene is delightful but itâs bringing the story momentum to a standstillâ. You love it, but it needs to go DESPITE your love, not because of it.
i saw someone recently trying to argue that KYD was bad because ânot every likeable character should have to die to make a story good and actually itâs too similar to bury your gays and fridging womenâ and i was like
?????
