When Rich Mullins was asked this question he sang "Jesus Loves Me."

Of course, when I say 'killed' I mean I moved it out of my WIP and dragged it down into my Unused Scenes in Scrivener. I suspect I won't use it elsewhere in this book but you never know. It's not gone-gone, just out of the compilable WIP.

I killed one of my darlings tonight, 650 really wonderful words about how one of the wisps hid the Great Wand away in another dimension to keep it from the scaly grasp of the evil Archmage. It was lyrical, magical, a scintillating scene of genuine wonder. And it didn't fit this book. So I mourned a little, and then I killed it, and moved forward with everything that remained.

Savannah Gilbo explains about how write effective red herrings. https://storygrid.com/what-are-red-herrings/

Agreed - Roger Zelazny was a master of using no more than three descriptions at a time, and yet his work always felt really vivid. It was a neat trick.

As it happens, I just posted an article from author and script doctor David Farland. As for help with characterization, I recommend a book called STORY GENIUS by Lisa Cron. I also recommend CREATING CHARACTER ARCS from our own K.M. Weiland.

David Farland talks about not forgetting to write setting so real you can see it in your mind's eye. https://mailchi.mp/102b8127ad33/david-farlands-writing-tips-spectacular-settings When I'm looking at a story, one of the simple things I look at is setting. There are

David Farland unpacks how to defeat a very specific form of Writer's Block. https://mailchi.mp/xmission/david-farlands-writing-tips-dont-stress-out-q4e1zatw6v

I like Moses but I'm more personally impressed with Elijah.

I think you're referring to something David Farland wrote and which I quoted. I (personally) think David by himself was weaker than Goliath, but David + God is stronger than anyone in history.

David Safford cautions that heroes shouldn't come too strong out of the gate. https://thewritepractice.com/call-to-adventure/

Steven Pressfield continues his argument. I'm beginning to think that while this is a genre trope, I don't know that it's a truism. (This does work in my Fantasy / Noir because it goes hand-in-hand with the hiding of the MacGuffin.) https://stevenpressfield.com/2019/08/the-female-protects-the-mystery/

I define the genre first which opens up obligatory scenes and conventions. I plug those in and if I've got characters with their own distinct voices, the novel kind of writes itself. https://storygrid.com/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-genre/

Many writers never have a problem with writer’s block, and so we sometimes say, “There’s no such thing.” But that’s not quite right. The truth is, there are various reasons why people feel “blocked,” which makes it hard sometimes to figure out why a writer is having problems. https://mailchi.mp/xmission/david-farlands-writing-tips-beating-writers-block

I think when we say 'plot' we mean main events which have a plan, a structure, an overarching arc which feels planned. I think ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD is less about plot and more about a couple of days in the life of two friends who Hollywood is leaving behind. (For instance, take OOATIH - a friend of mine just became a Story Grid editor and this was her statement on the film: "For those who think this movie doesn't have a plot, are you familiar with the concept of internal genres? This had Status arc all over it... It's not an action plot, it's about two dudes coming to terms with their own definition of success.")