“KILL YOUR DAHLINGS, JP!”
It was one of the first things barked at me as a junior copywriter. Actually, it was “Kill your babies!” but who wants that written on a business card?
Seventeen years on and that advice still excites me. What a mission – to exterminate the extraneous, guillotine the garrulous, flay the flatulent. Ahem.
It’s more than just cutting back. It’s craftsmanship and taking good care of each sentence. It’s a beautiful part of writing – and I love it.
