Killing Darlings
I’ve been madly & gracefully
killing my darlings. Had to.
See, today was the deadline
(get it?) for edits before sending
the novel manuscript to the copy
editor (yup, another editor for more
killing editing). So after madly &
gracefully receiving feedback from
readers, I slashed & chopped
& maimed & moved so many darlings:
words, sentences, paragraphs. Even
(wait for it) FOUR characters & the three
flaccid plot lines in which they lived (okay
so the plot lines needed the heave).
Sent the file off at 12:17am, I did.
Friends, this necessary murder is
momentous, for my sleep last night
was the sleep of a proud criminal –
dreamless, deep, delicate.
VANESSA SHIELDS 