Not Done Yet

When I finished my first draft of my book, I knew I had reason to celebrate. But I'm nowhere near done yet...

As a new author, one of the first pieces of writing advice I heard was to "kill your darlings."  As harsh as it sounds, the meaning is clear: delete your most precious passages for the greater good of your work. Be concise by eliminating "extraneous ornament," as Arthur Quiller-Couch wrote in 1913. 

On this round of edits, I'm trying to do just that. I need to remove about 35% of my first draft (and add about 10% of new content). 

This is a painful process.

The hardest part is when I have to cut an entire story. These are my darlings, these beautiful nuggets of wisdom from a host or student who took the time to share something meaningful with me. 

So instead of killing these darlings, I'm putting them in a time-out. I'm banishing them to a corner--a separate file--where I can find them again one day, with the hopes of sharing them in an article, or perhaps in this newsletter. 

I know the end result will be stronger, more engaging, more accessible for my readers. Like decorating a Christmas tree with just the right number of ornaments, if I do it right, they won't even know what's missing. 

As we dive into this busy holiday season, I'm curious: what are your darlings? What are the rituals or traditions that you cling to, but are no longer serving you or your family? Maybe this is the year to try putting them in a time-out. What happens next may surprise you.