kill your darlings

American  

Also murder your darlings

idiom

1. get rid of the things or elements you cherish in a piece of work in order to produce a result that is tighter, fresher, and more streamlined (used especially as a motto for writers and artists).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kill your darlings

After the interview, Zak and co-host June Thomas chat about collaboration, how to kill your darlings, and how Zak implements Julia Cameron’s concept of the “artist’s date.”

From Slate ● Nov. 27, 2022

In a lot of ways, this is a kill your darlings kind of task.

From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2021

But, as King advises, “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”

From Time ● Sep. 11, 2015

You need to kill your darlings, Ms. Rowling, if not for your fans, at least for yourself.

From Time ● Jun. 17, 2015

Bell calls this change hesitation the failure to kill your darlings, or the fall from a specialist to a generalist.

From Forbes ● Feb. 1, 2015