Share Your Darlings Blogfest

Yes, I've finally succumbed, I mean given in, I mean joined the crowd...Ok. I wanted to have a blogfest and the idea just won't go away and so here I am, telling you about my blogfest. Mine will be July 1, 2010.

As my blogging friend, could you help me spread the word? And if anyone knows how to make a cool button that links to the blogfest, could you let me know or show me how?

All that being said, here are the details:

We all have one. Some of us have more. It's the "favorite scene." You know, the one you spend days working on, crafting every word, changing each sentence five times. When you come to the end, you congratulate yourself on what a brilliant writer you are. You can hardly wait to show it to your crit partners.

They read. You wait with anticipation, ready to hear the words, “Congratulations. Wonderful. We’re envious of your writing prowess.”

Instead, you hear the words: It’s time to kill your darling.

You’re crushed. You want to argue. They don’t know what they’re talking about. Can’t they see how much blood and sweat went into those finely honed words? Don’t they understand that this was the best thing you’ve ever written?

You’re too afraid to say anything. You go home. You put the story away. A few days later, you look it over again. You consider what they said. You finally admit they were right. The scene has to be cut. It contributes nothing to the story.

But you can’t bear to hit the delete key. You spent too much time to relegate the words to novel purgatory. You look around to make sure no one is watching. Surely your crit partners will never know. When you feel it’s safe, you highlight the whole thing and click “cut.” You move it to the “extra text” file. You can always use it later.

Well, here’s your chance.

Instead of killing your darling, why don’t you share it with the rest of us during my “Share your darlings blogfest” on July 1st?

Rules? Here they are.

- Pick a favorite scene that you deleted or used. Either one is ok.
- Keep your scene to 600 words or less if possible. First drafts are fine. If there's adult content, please give your readers a warning.
- If your scene is longer than 600 words, pick your favorite part of the scene.
- Give a brief introduction to let us know how it fits in your story and what story it’s from.
- Sign up on my blogfest page.
- Mention the blogfest on your blog.
- Post your darling on July 1st.
- If you want, you can tell us why it’s your favorite.