Kill Your - Darlings

A "darling" is any element of your work that you keep out of vanity rather than necessity. Common examples include: Killing Your Darlings - A Writer's Journey

"Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings." Kill Your Darlings

While frequently attributed to William Faulkner or Stephen King, the phrase originated with in his 1916 book, On the Art of Writing . Quiller-Couch famously wrote: A "darling" is any element of your work

Faulkner later popularized a variation, advising writers to "kill all your darlings" to suppress the natural affection that leads to indulgent, flowery prose. What Qualifies as a "Darling"? Kill Your Darlings