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Check it out in the members area of the site.
Here’s a little more about Kill Your Darlings.
“INKHEART meets INCEPTION in this allegorical masterpiece.”
Fantasy author Kyla knows dreams don’t come true. Isolated and grappling with debilitating depression, she copes by writing about the realm of Solera. Fearless heroes, feisty shapeshifters, and mighty dragons come alive on her pages. She adores her characters, but she doesn’t believe in happy endings. And if she can’t have one, why should they?
Kyla’s on the verge of giving up on everything when she wakes one morning, magically trapped in her fictional world. Now she’s with her most cherished characters: the friends she’s always yearned for, the family she’s never known. There’s even someone who might be Prince Charming (if Kyla could get her act together and manage some honest communication). She’d surrender to the halcyon fantasy, except she knows a nightmarish ending awaits. Solera is at war, and its defenders are losing against the insidious villain spawned in the depths of Kyla’s mind. He feeds on the energy of dreams, seeks the destruction of all who oppose him-and Kyla’s become his number one target.
Kyla must trade her pen for a sword and fight to change her story’s ending, but this isn’t a fantasy anymore. No happily-ever-after is guaranteed. And mental illness has robbed her of everything she needs to succeed: love, fighting spirit, hope. If Kyla can’t overcome the darkness inside her, she’ll die with her darlings.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Depictions of mental illness including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.
As with any setup breakdown, the first step is to understand the Five Ps of Premise Prep, which you can do by reviewing the lessons on planning a book premise.
The next step is to read the book featured in this setup breakdown. You can purchase Kill Your Darlings on Amazon (and at other retailers).
After that, write out what you think the Five Ps are for the book and compare them to my analysis. This can help you start to think more critically about what makes a book tick so that you can more carefully craft your own work. It also gives you an opportunity to examine how we all interpret literature differently so that you can become more aware of how what you think and what your reader thinks may differ so that you can manage your writing style accordingly.
Happy reading!
