Murder Your Darlings is not just another book about writing. It shares the wisdom and creative insights of fifty or so authors, some famous, some not, and some who wrote their own books about the craft.
In his own unique manner, Roy Peter Clark distills the main lessons from each writer and presents them in curated chapters. The chapters are organized into six parts: language and craft, voice and style, confidence and identity, storytelling and character, rhetoric and audience, mission and purpose.
Aspiring or struggling writers can go directly to the issue she may be facing at the moment or read the whole thing to find tips and techniques that fit her emerging efforts best.
Though this may be most useful to writers who have a particular problem in mind, I believe any writer who wants to elevate their work could find something illuminating in these pages.
At the very least, Clark saves writers days of research time into locating appropriate writing resources. If you like the brief outline he gives of a writing guide, you could go invest the time to read the whole thing.
Highly recommended for everyone who strings words together or dreams about doing so.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of this book.
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