←back to thread

56 points acabal | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.397s | source
Show context
tptacek ◴[] No.41911264[source]
"Keenly attuned to his guests’ networks and net worths" is a cute turn of phrase.

Watch out for this story, it'll suck you in.

replies(2): >>41911388 #>>41911589 #
ballooney ◴[] No.41911388[source]
Exactly the sort of darling that that my college tutor would have said needed to be killed. “Yes, I know you’re very proud of it…”
replies(3): >>41912670 #>>41913232 #>>41914198 #
stavros ◴[] No.41912670[source]
Why would they say that it needs to be killed? To what end?
replies(2): >>41912826 #>>41913383 #
pjc50 ◴[] No.41912826[source]
The phrase "kill your darlings" circulates in fiction writing schools. The reasoning is that a "darling" turn of phrase which the author really likes is likely something that they are irrationally obsessed over and that distorts the editing process around itself, to the detriment of overall quality.

Like a lot of writing advice this is really subjective.

replies(2): >>41913410 #>>41913419 #
1. toyg ◴[] No.41913410[source]
I think it boils down to "nobody likes a showoff", really.
replies(1): >>41914661 #
2. pjc50 ◴[] No.41914661[source]
Again, subjective. Some people like it and it can be a valid literary art form in itself. It's only in purely utilitarian text like technical writing where it doesn't belong.