Steve’s Blog: The Writer as Murderer

If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: “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. Arthur Quiller-Couch, “On the Art of Writing,” 1914  One of the problems with great writing advice is it quickly settles and hardens, losing …