{"id":6664,"date":"2016-07-26T21:21:19","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T02:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/?p=6664"},"modified":"2016-07-26T21:21:19","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T02:21:19","slug":"killing-your-darlings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/2016\/07\/26\/killing-your-darlings\/","title":{"rendered":"Killing Your Darlings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CoiledLast weekend, I chatted with my mom about a scene from the current novel rewrite I cut. Then a friend (Rick Coste<\/a>) and I chatted in email about the phrase:<\/p>\n

Kill your darlings<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Killing Your Darlings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I once knew someone who went through a story and cut all<\/em> their favorite scenes.<\/p>\n

Not analyzing so much as a word — simply cutting because:<\/p>\n

They say you must <\/em>kill your darlings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Never mind that it’s a saying meaning we must all sometimes cut scenes we like that don’t serve a chapter or story. Hell, in my last novel, I removed a story line I adored because after rewriting the novel, there was no place for any<\/em> of the characters and what happened with them.<\/p>\n

But all my favorite scenes remained in tact (well, I did<\/em> like the frozen ham murder scene…based on a news story about two people who got in a fight in a grocery store and one…grabbed a frozen ham and beat the shit out of their opponent with it).<\/p>\n

Killing a Scene<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We’ve all heard about parts of old movies being left in the cutting room floor. (Now we just digitally delete things.)<\/p>\n

The reason I chatted with my mom about a cut scene last weekend? I shared a cut scene with her, and she didn’t understand why I’d cut it.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it was a one-two downer punch that wasn’t needed…and…it made a chapter run too long.<\/p>\n

That’s what’s meant by killing your darlings. Not<\/em> that you must go on a seek-and-destroy mission and eliminate all<\/em> favorite scenes, but that you must assess every scene and see if it’s needed.<\/p>\n

This scene? It wasn’t needed — even though I like it:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0June is awakened by a loud crack, and then another. She thinks about the time the tornado came through the circus, how the sound of splintered tent poles made a similar cracking sound. She sits up and waits for cries for help. She\u2019s relieved to see Joseph sitting up as well. He puts his index finger to his lips; June stays quiet.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThere he goes!\u201d somebody shouts from the grounds.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Joseph stands and peeks out the back door of their car. June hears the commotion coming her way: the pounding of feet coming alongside the train and the shouts of men. Beams from flashlights cut through the air like long swords. Joseph opens the back door and steps out. June can see him crane his head around the train behind them. The rolling noise of footfalls and shouting sounds like it\u2019s almost right on top of her. She watches her father leap out of view. It sounds like somebody\u2019s dropped a bag of potatoes on the ground.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cStay down!\u201d Joseph says. June steps onto the rear platform and sees her father on top of a struggling man.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cLet me up, ya kinker!\u201d June recognizes the voice of a high-pitched man everybody calls Matilda because he sounds more like a woman than a man.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The crowd, mostly consisting of roustabouts, helps Joseph hold the man down. Coming up the rear is a man June recognizes: Stuart Barnes, one half of the Barnes in Barnes Brothers\u2019 Circus. Joseph steps up and back, letting the burlier men restrain the man. No sooner than Stuart Barnes catches up and sees the man being held on the ground by four others, he pulls a pistol from his pocket and shoots the man in the back of the head. The men holding him down leap to their feet. One says, \u201cWhat the hell, boss! You coulda hit us!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0June waits for the man on the ground to get up and begin running again, but he doesn\u2019t move at all.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhat the hell?!\u201d Joseph says.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Stuart Barnes looks at him. \u201cHe shot Cecil.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhy? What happened?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe red-lighted him a couple weeks ago,\u201d Stuart says. \u201cHe was a deadbeat and we weren\u2019t about to pay him for nothing. He showed up tonight and shot Cecil twice before taking off. He got what he deserved. When the coppers come, we\u2019ll tell them I shot him as he ran, all right?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Everybody, including Joseph, nods their heads.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cHe got what was coming to him, boss,\u201d one of the roustabouts says. \u201cWe all saw it\u2014he shot Cecil and you came out and shot back.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Somebody else says, \u201cWe\u2019ll head into town and get the police. Hate having them out here, but once it gets in a report that he was shot while running after killing Mr. Barnes, that\u2019ll be that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Joseph turns back to the steps to their car.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cJune?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0June stares at the dead man on the ground.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI told you to stay inside, sweetheart.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cIs that man dead?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cYes, he is.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cDid you help kill him?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhat? No, I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cYou jumped on him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI thought he\u2019d just stolen something. I didn\u2019t know he\u2019d shot somebody or that everyone was coming to\u2026stop him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cAre the police going to come?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cYes, they will be here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWill they talk to us?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI suppose they\u2019ll want to talk to me. I\u2019ll tell them you were asleep so you don\u2019t have to talk to them. How\u2019s that sound?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0June nods her head, and Joseph gives her a kiss on the forehead.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhy don\u2019t you try to get some sleep. I\u2019ll wait out here. Everything\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Last weekend, I chatted with my mom about a scene from the current novel rewrite I cut. Then a friend (Rick Coste) and I chatted in email about the phrase: Kill your darlings Killing Your Darlings I once knew someone who went through a story and cut all their favorite scenes. Not analyzing so much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6664"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6664"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6669,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6664\/revisions\/6669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}