Killing Your Darlings and Enjoying It

William Faulkner is associated with the quote that "in writing, you must kill all your darlings." What he's looking at is that you're going to write something you really, really love. And then realize that it really, really doesn't work. Yeah, this part can really, really suck.

This is just part of the craft, something that you've got to learn how to do yourself, and sometimes it can hurt. You're going to come up with something that's going to fall into one of three categories: the problem chapter, the block, and the suck.

The Problem Chapter

You've got the really great chapter and you find out that it actually sucks. It's got a really great flow, it's got really great pacing, and you've got some really great stuff going on in the chapter, but the chapter doesn't go with the rest of the project for one reason or another. The bottom line is that you've got an entirely different style going on  and you've got to make the decision to re-write the rest of the book, or to simply delete chapter. 

Nine times out of ten you're going to want to just delete the chapter. However, because we are dealing with computers, a really cool thing is you can save the chapter to a different file. You can come back to it later and use it as a seed for a different project; sometimes the chapter can be used as the basis of something else, especially if you change the names, mess around with the details a little, or even add a little more to it. This kind of recycling is not a bad thing. 

However, bear in mind that the reality is that you're unlikely to do anything with the chapter because it's just too specific to the project it was meant for. You're just going to have to kill it and move on. You're going to hate doing it, but you don't have much of a choice; it just doesn't work and you can't use it anywhere else. So delete it, make notes on why you liked, and move on.

The Block

You've been doing pretty well: The writing is flowing, you're doing some really great stuff, and you really love the flow you have going. And then all of a sudden you keep hitting block after block, and you have no idea what's going on because you were doing so well. This is where you need to analyze the piece and determine if what you've just done is the problem; sometimes a block is your subconscious telling you that what you've been writing may look great, but be problematical.

This is when you go back to your outline. Make sure that you've been writing feels right, and then make sure that you've been following your outline. If you have, then mess around with the outline a little; see how different events would change things, and if you like the changes. Then look at your characters; odds are you need to make some changes in your line-up.

It generally  all comes back to the same particular character, or place or item that you got somehow wrong and you need to root it out and eliminate it. You need to get rid of it in order for the project to go forward. This is one of those situations where writer's block can actually help you because working through the writer's block is actually going to help the piece. 

Just remember that no matter how much you love the character or whatever, you need to kill him for the sake of the project. Be ruthless and you should see things getting better.

The Suck 

Sometimes you find out that the project you're working on totally sucks. Occasionally, you're going to hit a project isn't right for you or you just don't like the project. Don't be afraid to scrap it. This isn't a matter of ego, pride, or anything like that. It's just a matter of mental health; you realize that sometimes things just aren't going to work. It's just like a bad relationship: No matter how much you love the person you're with it just isn't working. You don't want the relationship to end no matter how toxic the current one is because it means having to start up a new entirely new relationship.  

Just scrap it. If you need to undergo some sort of ritual in order to move on, that's fine. A funeral is for the survivors to move on, and if that's what you need so be it. You've just gotten out of an intense relationship, and a funeral of some sort may actually help: Go out, get a drink, or do whatever you need to do to get out of your system. If you're a Catholic, this means going out into a church and actually lighting a candle or holding some sort of quick vigil for it. Just recognize that killing your darlings is not a bad thing as a writer to do. It's part and parcel of the job. 

It never gets any easier, but it is part of the job. Get used to it, figure out how to move on, and be ready to do it again. No one ever said that writing was easy, and this is the least easy part of it. This is when you need to get ruthless and to get good at it. Figure out how to deal with it and you'll be a better, if sadder, writer.