Definition
Murder your darlings is a sharper synonym for kill your darlings: ruthlessly remove beloved passages that inflate ego but weaken pacing, clarity, or arc.
Example
During revision, an author murders a favorite opening joke because it delays the inciting incident by four pages.
Related terms
Common mistakes
- Murdering darlings in the first draft before discovering whether the scene earns its place.
- Confusing murder your darlings with deleting all voice and personality from the prose.