Kill your babies no more!

"Sometimes, you just have to kill your babies" the saying goes. And I cringe every time I hear it. Of course I understand where it comes from and what it is trying to convey, and yes, how its effectiveness as an expression resides mostly on its shock value.

The problem is, it doesn't work. Not for me, anyway.

Here is the thing: If you are trying to get me to chisel away my most preciously crafted sentences to allow the polished diamond of the story to shine through, the last thing you should do is a) call them "babies", b) tell me they're MY babies, and then c) tell me I have to kill them. Seriously?

I have been pondering this for a while and have come with another approach that I think will be a lot more effective:

Our "babies" are our stories. They are borne of the deepest, most vulnerable parts of our being, and yet, as soon as they take their first little steps onto the page they begin to show they have a character of their own.

Like human babies, our stories grow in a messy yet gradual manner, and so their clothes sometimes need mending at the knees and elbows, or downright replacing. And those beautiful sentences that make your heart sing every time you read them (but that otherwise add nothing but word count to your storyline)? Think of them as the golden curls on your baby's little head that have grown so long the child cannot see where it is going anymore. Beautiful and golden yes, but they still have to go.

So next time we're in a critique group or chatting online about a piece of writing you feel needs some heavy editing,  try telling the author to "give it a haircut", "trim its nails", or simply to "change the entire outfit...we're going to the beach, and your baby is dressed in a sequined tutu".

Does that sound fair? Can you come up with another expression that might work better? What do you think?