Answers · By Sun Yi, creator of the Myth Sandwich
How to kill your darlings?
Short answerKilling your darlings means removing everything unnecessary that doesn't support your story's one single lesson. Most of the stuff you don't want to cut is there for your ego, not your reader.
What It Means
- It's the exercise of removing anything that doesn't support the story.
- Narrow it down to one lesson, then cut everything that has nothing to do with that lesson.
- Rewrite every sentence until every unnecessary word is gone.
Why It's Hard
- You don't want to cut things because you don't want to look like a nobody.
- Every little add-on, name drop, or brag is there for your ego, not your reader.
- It's easy to kill someone else's darlings. Killing your own is the hard part.
In Sun's words
If you've attended at least nine small group meetings, you're at the run stage. Now I need you to kill your darlings. Go word by word. Cut anything you added for your own ego — name drops, brags, words you used to sound smart. And then look at your hook like a stranger scrolling past. Would it stop you? Does it make you curious enough to keep going?
▶ Watch Sun explain thisTry itOpen a saved story in Story Bank, find one line you love but don't need, and delete it.
This answer comes from Sun Yi's Story Bank Library.
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