Should You Kill Your Bae?
Haven't we all heard this? You like that one scene? KILL IT OFF. You like that character? KILL IT OFF. You think this is pretty cool? KILL IT OFF.
Yep, we're talking about killing your darlings.
Many people have said that you definitely should do this. And sure, it has credit. But do you really have to?
Yep, we're talking about killing your darlings.
Many people have said that you definitely should do this. And sure, it has credit. But do you really have to?
What It Means
It means, whatever you think it's awesome or the best ever in your story, take it, smash that delete button and stomp on it like ants trying to steal your sandwich. And better yet, this sandwich has CHEESE. And this cheese has SUGAR. It's that good.
This term was first coined by American author William Faulkner, although some say it goes back further to an English author and surname collector Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch who said "murder your darlings".
But because I'm a firm believer in keeping things modern, I'm going to call it "kill your bae". While it's the shortened version of "baby" in English, it means "poop" in Danish. Isn't that just so layered in this context?
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Discussing This Quote
The phrase originated from the thought that you have to delete everything that doesn't work, even the parts you love. This can come in the form of characters, scenes, words or phrases... Pretty much anything.
If something doesn't work, of course it has to be fixed. But do you really have to delete it?
If someone tells you that they don't like this part of your story, take it into consideration. They've said it for a reason. However, I believe you should figure out why it's a problem and fix it instead of deleting it.
Think of it like any of life's problems. If you are being bullied, you wouldn't just forget about the problem and the person, you'd deal with it. This isn't the best analogy, but it's the same principle. If you really like this aspect of your story but someone else doesn't, you make it work.
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| Source: Giphy |
What To Do Instead
1. Make it about your bae.
A common mistake authors, especially new ones, make is that they want to add everything and anything they think is awesome to their story. This can lead to many problems, including too many aspects for readers to remember and pointless aspects.
For some of these aspects, you might have to follow some of the tips below. But for your favourites, make them integral to your story. Make your bae the centre of attention or somewhere close to the spotlight. Make it so readers can't tell you to kill your bae.
Say your story is about pirates with steam balloons but you want to add pegasus riders just because pegasi are cool. Instead of it just being another part of the story that ultimately has no purpose, make the pegasus riders inherent to your pirate story. Maybe they're two opposing sides. Maybe the two forces combine to make a steam balloon-pegasus hybrid. Whatever the reason, you can't kill your pegasus riders bae now.
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| Source: Giphy |
2. Give your bae a reason.
Often, you might have a bae in there because you like it but ultimately, it doesn't add anything to the overall story. This is primarily seen through weak characters and scenes.
This is probably the easiest method of saving your bae. All you need to do is add a reason, whether it be a stronger emotional impact or something completely different, that justifies why your bae should be in your story.
For example, let's say you have a kissing scene that's totally romantic and you love it. But your readers feel like it doesn't do anything to move the plot or change the characters' relationship. Ouch. The fix is to make that kissing scene move the plot, change the characters' relationship, add conflict, something that will make the rest of the story make no sense without that scene.
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| Source: Giphy |
3. Alter your bae.
Sometimes, you might make a bae a particular way and you love it just like that. Then the reader comes along and whoopsy daisy, you find out your bae is weak, soppy or worst, a total cringe.
Instead of killing it, change your bae to make it work. It can be as small as changing the nationality of a weak character, or as massive as taking away a whole city in your worldbuilding. It's similar to character arcs. Your bae has a flaw they need to overcome by changing their beliefs. Except in this case, your bae needs to change itself.
Maybe you like this character because you think they're a rebel and their rebelling adds more conflict. But another person says actually, no, they're not a rebel. They're a whiny, complaining person.
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Don't kill your rebel. Instead, show that your character is a rebel and most importantly, why they're rebelling. Make sure your character does go against what another person says not once, not twice, but several times. Prove to the world your character really truly is a rebel.
4. Keep your bae for a future story.
If you've tried all the other options but they just aren't working, here's the last option: kill your bae.
But wait, I hear you say. Isn't this post about other options in place of killing my bae? Well, yes. Yes it is. Which is why I clarify to explain that you should delete your bae from that story and save on in a separate doc with future story ideas. While you could say it's technically killing your bae, I'm going to say it's not because technically, your bae is still alive. They've just moved house.
Choosing to archive your bae doesn't mean you're a bad author because you couldn't spotlight or give reason or alter your bae. It just means your bae is too good for that story and they need an upgrade. Forget the teepee, they want a million dollar mansion.
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| *Correction: I'm from...the past! Source: Giphy |
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