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Post by Ximena on Jun 13, 2012 10:15:54 GMT -5
So I was about to write this yesterday and then we had a huge storm and lost power until this morning, lol... so here I am again. I have a question for those of you who are writers - have you ever killed off a major character? I ask this because I never have had the guts to do it, and I've been feeling like my soap is calling for it, but I just don't know if I can bring myself to kill him off LOL. (It's not the main character, but it is one of the major characters.) I also ask because I've been watching One Tree Hill on Netflix (yeah I'm such a girl) and they just killed off one of the main characters, which sucks, lol, but it obviously really works for the story. If you've done it, how did you do it? LOL. I know it seems silly, it's just a character, right? But still, am curious...  |
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Post by ruthmadison on Jun 13, 2012 11:00:15 GMT -5
I've never been able to do it. I'm too much of a sucker for super happy endings.  |
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Post by janewheeler on Jun 13, 2012 13:25:03 GMT -5
It's a soap -- can't you just bring him back under an assumed name after plastic surgery in South America?
(I kid, I kid...)
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Post by Ximena on Jun 13, 2012 13:31:50 GMT -5
lol. It's more a nighttime than a daytime soap! LOL.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2012 14:22:46 GMT -5
I'm more into drama than anything else so just kill him  If you already think it's going to help your story, create dramatic conflict, you've answered your question yourself. Just try and see how it goes. If you're not happy with the result, you can always apply Jane's recipe Or just erase the pages... |
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Post by Ximena on Jun 13, 2012 15:04:09 GMT -5
LOL. Yeah, there's a part of me who wants to write the story with him dying and then like you said I can always unwrite it, so-to-speak...
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Post by brace4impact on Jun 13, 2012 21:26:33 GMT -5
Yes, I wrote a sci-fi trilogy and killed off a very major character in the final book. It actually is kind of hard to do, because I spent two years getting to know these characters, and to kill that character off was kind of hard. I had a weird feeling for the rest of the day after writing the scene.
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Post by Ximena on Jun 13, 2012 21:48:35 GMT -5
Yeah, that's kind of the way I am, and the story will keep going even after this character dies. Right now I started writing the setup for him dying bc it's what was calling me, so-to-speak. Not sure if I can go through with it or not, though...
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Post by brace4impact on Jun 13, 2012 22:23:25 GMT -5
Well, luckily my character didn't go through much of a "dying phase" as yours appears to be. The nice thing about action/sci-fi is that your character can die a heroic death. I suppose that's not too useful for you, unless you I don't know, add a plot twist that terrorists attack your character, lol.
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Post by Ximena on Jun 13, 2012 22:27:47 GMT -5
Lol. Yeah, we'll see how it goes. I may chicken out and let him live... We'll just have to see...
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Post by devogirl on Jun 14, 2012 8:14:12 GMT -5
I did, but it had been my plan from the beginning so it didn't feel like a big deal. The actual death I just described in one sentence, which I think adds to the drama and shock value for the reader. Sometimes less is more.
Joss Whedon is the master at killing off main characters. He almost always makes it a really sudden surprise. The melodrama can come later with the other characters mourning.
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Post by Ximena on Jun 14, 2012 9:52:21 GMT -5
See I'm a big believer in kind of letting my characters come alive, as in it's almost like they are the ones who tell me what happens next and not like I really plan for it, if that makes sense...
And this was just one of those things like the story was kind of saying maybe it's time lol. Not sure if I'll be able to actually go through with it or not but we'll see, lol.
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Post by ruthmadison on Jun 15, 2012 17:58:03 GMT -5
Yes, I wrote a sci-fi trilogy and killed off a very major character in the final book. It actually is kind of hard to do, because I spent two years getting to know these characters, and to kill that character off was kind of hard. I had a weird feeling for the rest of the day after writing the scene. Argh!!! Really? *weep* I don't think I'll ever make it through your books because, well, it's not the genre I generally read, but I'm still sad to hear this. |
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Post by ruthmadison on Jun 15, 2012 17:59:05 GMT -5
I did, but it had been my plan from the beginning so it didn't feel like a big deal. The actual death I just described in one sentence, which I think adds to the drama and shock value for the reader. Sometimes less is more. Joss Whedon is the master at killing off main characters. He almost always makes it a really sudden surprise. The melodrama can come later with the other characters mourning. Thank goodness he was talked out of killing Xander. Jeez. I agree on the less is more. The more dramatic and intense the emotion, the less emotional the writing itself should be, is what I've found. |
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Post by Valkyrja on Jun 16, 2012 12:03:06 GMT -5
Joss Whedon is a Genius!... he really is a master killing his characters!...
In "Serenity".... I was totally shocked when he killed Wash (Alan Tudyk's character)... I really didn´t expect that one!
When I wrote and being a teenager, I used to "kill" lot of my characters. I always wrote about spies, sci-fi or whatever and, if I was in a "teen homicidal rage"... I went to my writings and I killed someone... very violently! LOL
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If you already think it's going to help your story, create dramatic conflict, you've answered your question yourself. Just try and see how it goes. If you're not happy with the result, you can always apply Jane's recipe 
