Feb 21, 2022
What’s the worst wound (emotional or physical) one of your characters has ever had to deal with? How did you react to writing the scene?
I get attached to my characters, both the good and the not-so-good. But if I don’t hurt them, there won’t be a story that anyone wants to read. I also have to consider whether killing off a character for the sake of the storyline will turn readers off and make them stop reading.
That’s the dilemma with every story. How far can I go and remain true to the characters?
For example, I considered killing off Eli Hennessey, Harmony’s love interest, before I started writing the last book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. I felt like the series was getting stale and needed either a radical reset or to end it. Killing Eli would certainly have reset things, but I didn’t feel it would be true to the overall tone of the stories. I decided to approach it differently.
I placed the phone on the table, then set my hands on my lap to hide them. I clenched and unclenched my fists. Clenched them again. My fingernails dug into my palms. I forced the words from my constricted throat.
“Eli is missing.”
From The Ranger’s Dog Tags
That set the scene for giving Harmony the worst time of her life. Sure, Eli had disappeared before, but instinct told her this time was different. He’d been at safely at home and in his bed, and then he wasn’t. And no one, not Harmony, not his friends, not his parents, not even the cops could locate him.
To make matters worse, Harmony found herself in charge of Eli’s company, putting additional pressure on her in a time of crisis. I’d love to tell you more, but I can’t without this post becoming filled with spoilers. You’ll have to go buy the book, if you haven’t already!
But I will give you a few hints. Eli’s houses (both of them) are set on fire. Harmony is stalked and ends up living with an ATF agent. She pulls a Bootlegger’s 180 in the middle of I-4, the interstate that runs east-west through the middle of Florida. Since it’s Florida, there’s the threat of a hurricane. (It wouldn’t be Florida without a hurricane, mosquitos, tourists, and humidity.) And a recurring character close to Harmony dies.
I had fun writing this book, but I also hated myself. The box of tissues on my desk had to be replaced more than once. I carefully weighed each torture I put Harmony through to decide if it was really necessary. Sometimes, I had to stop writing and give myself a day or two to gather the strength to continue—or figure out how to get it right. (At least that’s the excuse I could use when I had temporary writer’s block.) Knowing that I had the ability to give Harmony her happy ending is what let me feel free to put her through the tough times.
I suspect that’s true for most authors. We don’t enjoy writing the terrible things we write about. (Okay, there may be a few exceptions.) But don’t take my word for it. Follow the links below and find out what dreadful things the other authors on this hop have imposed on their characters. But before you go, I’d love it if you would leave a comment.
As always, until next time, please stay safe!
Feb 21, 2022
What’s the worst wound (emotional or physical) one of your characters has ever had to deal with? How did you react to writing the scene?
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Yes, we have to make sure the ending is happy, otherwise readers complain.
At least in romances. There a few genres that you can get away with a less than marvelous ending.
I’m faced with the same dilemma, one of my major characters is for the chop, but how to do it?
If it’s important to the story, you have to do it. Just make sure they go out in a blaze of glory!
First off – now I have the song in my head.
I think I’ve only ever killed off a really bad character – can’t imagine having to kill a likeable one.
Tweeted.
Really late commenting – got behind in my times today.
I was beginning to think that my evil plot to put that song in everyone’s head had failed!
“What’s the worst wound (emotional or physical) one of your characters has ever had to deal with? How did you react to writing the scene?”
Well… since I write them to kill them, I guess it would have to be the way in which I’ve killed them. I killed one character – a child – in an horrific car accident. I am killing a pair of lovers in one of my current WIPs by needler. Another WIP will see the heroine killed by magic. I killed one by unspecified, but incurable disease in my other WIP. Yet another died in a shipwreck caused by a fierce storm; his lover committed suicide because of paranormal reasons. And, almost all of those characters go through emotional torment before they are killed.
After the death at sea, I wept through his lover’s suffering, then openly sobbed when I wrote her death. For the little girl, I actually kind of hated myself for a bit, which helped the angry brother’s character development, I think.
Hopefully, your emotion showed in your writing so readers would feel it, too.